Herat steel smelters: Power shortages hinder job creation for returnees

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Steel smelter owners in western Herat province say they have launched programmes aimed at preventing young people from migrating again and providing employment for recently returned migrants.

They cite electricity shortages and a lack of raw materials as the main obstacles to their factories’ operations and urge strong government support.

Nisar Ahmad, owner of a steel smelting factory in Herat, told Pajhwok Afghan News that within a month he plans to employ 200 Afghan migrants recently deported from Iran.

However, he said unstable electricity and a shortage of raw materials were serious challenges.

He noted that unreliable power supply had alarmed traders and investors in the province’s industrial park, while prolonged outages had reduced his factory’s production capacity by 80 percent.

Another factory owner, Khan Gul, said his plant sometimes remained closed for up to five consecutive days due to power shortages. Resolving the electricity problem, he said, would enable more job opportunities for returnees.

He called on the government to act decisively to ensure power supply and to simplify the import of raw materials. More than half of his factory’s raw materials, he explained, were imported from Iran — a costly and time-consuming process.

Meanwhile, Faridoon, deputy head of Herat’s scrap iron dealers’ union, said more than 1,500 tonnes of scrap iron were supplied daily to manufacturing plants in the Herat industrial park. However, this amount was insufficient to meet the factories’ growing needs.

Some returnees now employed in steel smelters welcomed the job opportunities and urged their expansion.

Abdul Jabbar, a Kandahar resident deported from Iran a month ago, said unemployment in Afghanistan had forced him to migrate. He called for more opportunities for other returnees.

Abdul Salam, from Baghlan, stressed that job creation was essential to preventing further migration and urged officials to implement effective economic programmes to increase income opportunities inside the country.

Director of Commerce and Industry Mohammad Bashir Sirat said the administration was working to support investors and create more jobs for returnees. On average, he noted, one new manufacturing plant began operating in Herat each month.

He acknowledged issues such as electricity shortages and raw material supply but emphasised that new factories played a vital role in job creation and strengthening the local economy. Efforts were under way to resolve these challenges.

According to the Department of Commerce and Industry, there are currently five steel smelting plants in the province, producing around 15 tonnes of iron products daily.

kk/ma