Afghanistan’s Minister of Urban Development and Housing Sayed Saadat Mansour Naderi and the Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Yao Jing on Thursday signed a contract for construction to start on 1,400 apartments in Kabul.
 
China will fund construction of 10,000 apartments in total with the initial phase totaling 1,400, said Naderi during the signing ceremony. 
 
It is believed that construction work on the apartment buildings will start within two months and that the first phase will be finished in about two years. 
 
The Chinese government has pledged to provide two billion Chinese Yuan (about $300 million USD) for the entire project.
 
“The technical team at the ministry of urban development and housing has completed the planning and design of the project, the location has also been certified including the checking of the land,” said Naderi.
 
Meanwhile the Chinese envoy to Afghanistan Yao Jing said that the first, second and third phase of the project will involve apartment buildings in Kabul city and the remaining will be established in the provinces to provide more housing to Afghans.
 
“If this project is accepted by the people and the government of Afghanistan, I believe that the Chinese government will continue its cooperation in this sphere … China is also dreaming of economic development and improvements in the lives of Afghan people,” he said.
 
According to the ministry, currently there is a need for nearly two million houses in the country.