LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant has been inaugurated in Lashkar Gah city, the capital of southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, the plant manager reported on Friday.
The factory's first phase, which has now been utilized, can produce six types of syrups, and the factory will activate the production of 16 types of tablets, capsules, and ampoules in the future, Sayed Wali Jahani, the factory manager, told Xinhua.
Jahani said the plant has directly and indirectly created job opportunities for more than 300 people, adding that the factory was activated with an investment of 30 million afghanis (about 450,000 U.S. dollars).
Currently, about 104 pharmaceutical factories are actively producing 650 types of drugs and health products in Afghanistan. Local medicine production can meet 70 percent of Afghanistan's needs, an official of the country's food and drug authority said recently. ■
