KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): A medicine producing factory, the largest on national level, is being set up in southern Kandahar province at a cost of $31 million, officials said Tuesday.
The factory, Sano Pharma, will be of international standard and construction work on its building is half completed.
People and health workers are happiness over the establishment of such a huge medicine producing factory and hope it would replace substandard medicines sold in markets.
Mohammad Sayed Sidiq, chief of the factory, told Pajhwok that 71 Afghan traders had shares in the factory — the first major joint venture.
He said the factory would cost $31 million and half of its building has been constructed.
He said the factory would be operating under the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
He added that besides medicines the factory would also produce some foods. He said the factory’s construction works would be completed by 2020 and it drugs would be exported abroad as well.
Noor Ahmad Maiwand, a resident of Kandahar City, the provincial capital, told Pajhwok that unfortunately despite the passage of many years, low quality medicines were still imported to their province.
But he expressed happiness over the new factory construction and said it would address their issues in future.
A number of other residents held similar views and hoped the factory would help address the shortage of medicines.
Kandahar Public Health Director Dr. Abdul Qaium Pukhla said such factories if established would prevent the import of low quality medicines to the country.
Pk/ma
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