Govt approves draft investment policy for extraction of $150b marble deposits

AVA- The Office of the President, ARG Palace, said the proposed draft was discussed and approved during the meeting of the High Economic Council chaired by President Mohammmad Ashraf Ghani.
It was decided that clear technical standards should be considered and implemented for the extraction of the mines.
According to ARG Palace, the meeting concluded with the decision that taxes will be reduced for all those companies that respect the implementation of the recognized standards.
President Ghani said the government welcomes investments but the circumstances surrounding the investment types and its effectiveness must be clear.
The officials are saying that the marble deposits have been estimated at more than 150 billion US Dollars and currently 25 companies operate in the extraction section while 108 other companies are busy in the process of the raw materials.
The ARG Palace in a statement said the proposal of the Natural Stone Processing Company was discussed during the meeting and the it was decided that the company was eligible for the award of the contracts.
The Ministry of Finance was instructed to consider customs tax exemptions in this regard while the State Utility Firm (Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat) was instructed to assist with the provision of commercial power for the extraction of the marble deposits.