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The Most Successful Contract in the History of Afghanistan
Aynak copper mine – 35 kilometres southeast of Kabul in Afghanistan – is one of the largest in the world. The contracts were signed just last month entitling the Chinese to mine copper in Afghanistan. It was to no small degree thanks to the active commitment of CIM expert Professor Dr. Rahman Ashraf that nothing was done over-hastily in advance of the sale, and that competition over the copper mine contract was fair. As personal senior advisor on mining and energy to President Hamid Karzai, Ashraf first applied himself to laying a sound legal foundation for the transaction. For example, he revised Afghanistan's outdated minerals legislation. "We geared our revision of the law to international standards. A new basis for sales and leasing is now in place, and the important issue of nature conservation has been taken into account, too," says the German-Afghan. Significantly, Ashraf also presented the copper mine project at a trade fair in Toronto, immediately attracting the attention of 35 potential investors. Nine companies – from Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan, for example – stayed in the running, took a look at the mine on site and entered into negotiations. The contract was ultimately awarded to the MCC China Metallurgical Group. "This is the best contract closure in the history of Afghanistan," commented the Integrated Expert, who had made sure international legal experts were on board for the contract negotiations. Included in the package, along with a railroad project and the construction of two 200-megawatt coal-fired power plants, are investments by the Chinese that will come to around USD 7 billion. The mining of copper in the Aynak mine alone will create 3,000 jobs right off.
JOBS AND EDUCATION AS KEYS TO PEACE IN AFGHANISTAN
"This is a very important first step for Afghanistan," Ashraf is convinced. As a CIM expert in Afghanistan since 2004, he believes in jobs and education as the keys to peace there. Currently 10 CIM experts like himself work closely with GIZ in Afghanistan. Promotion of the private sector and agro-industry are among the areas in which the CIM "Integrated Experts" work, as are urban planning and housing construction. At present, Ashraf is also working to promote higher education in Afghanistan. A year ago he was named rector of the University of Kabul. In this capacity, he is currently travelling through Germany and France in order to re-establish and revitalise old partnerships – such as those with the pharmaceutical and law faculties in Lyon and Paris. The University of Kabul was originally founded in 1938 with eight students. Today there are 20,000, who are studying toward degrees in more than 67 fields. "Here, too, we had to start with less than nothing. We had to rebuild buildings that had been destroyed, and we still have no laboratories," says the doctor of geology. He is hoping that activities like those at the University of Kabul will be taken up by the 14 provincial universities as well.
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