Taliban officials held a ceremony in Parwan province to launch the second phase of the Jabal Siraj cement factory, framing the expansion as a major step toward domestic production and job creation. Deputy Chief Abdul Salam Hanafi announced that the state-run National Development Corporation will finance and implement the project, which aims for a daily production capacity of 5000t. However, officials omitted critical details, leaving out the budget, construction timeline, and project start date.
Deputy Chief Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar described the initiative as part of a strategic shift to reduce Afghanistan's heavy reliance on foreign imports by leveraging local resources and labour.
The Jabal Siraj facility, located north of Kabul, originally opened in 1958 but has suffered decades of shutdowns caused by conflict, ageing machinery, and a lack of investment.
The previous Afghan government attempted to tender a US$170m expansion in 2018, but the project stalled before the administration collapsed in 2021. In 2023, the Taliban signed a US$220m deal with a Qatari firm for the first phase of the plant. Officials have not clarified how this new state-led second phase aligns with the Qatari agreement, nor have they specified if the 5000tpd target represents the new phase alone or the entire combined facility.
