MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A new oil refinery with a daily capacity of refining 600 tons of crude oil was inaugurated in northern Afghanistan's Balkh province on Thursday.
Constructed at a cost of 50 million U.S. dollars outside the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif city by private sector, the firm has provided job opportunities for 100 people directly and hundreds others indirectly, provincial governor Mohammad Yousuf Wafa said at the inauguration ceremony.
The official also noted that the Afghan caretaker administration would spare no effort to take the war-ravaged country towards progress and prosperity.
A handful of refineries have operated in Afghanistan over the past few years. Meanwhile, some Afghan businessmen have decided to establish a consortium with an investment of 400 million dollars in a bid to make the country become self-reliance in oil refining. ■
