Chinese Investment in Afghan Dams Raises Concerns

Ministry of Water and Energy in Afghanistan has recently announced a significant event that happened to be the interest of the Chinese company to invest in three important dams on Kunar River. The project, which is scheduled to produce more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity, once again proves the importance and value of Kabul River Basin, which is a critical water supply for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, this project is not so innocent due to a number of issues. In its time, Pakistan was really worried about the Afghan plans to construct any dam or water reservoir on Kunar River basing itself on the possible risks to its water availability. At the same time, hopes for the Chinese water company investments to the Afghan dam is not only a serious mistake, but a dangerous move due to the complicated relations with Pakistan, the country which has always been rather sensitive in regard to the issues of water supply and water shortage.

In the reality these developments do not seem to look promising. This event in fact may mean that the Taliban regime, which came to power not so long ago and which is permanently in search of contacts to support its initiatives, will be paying more attention to the issues of water, climate change, and water supply more than its predecessors. At the same time this event may result in a lasting cooperation in water management between China and Pakistan, which implies that the latter country is not alone in water supplies and that it has some allies supporting it.