KABUL - Cabinet members in a Monday meeting discussed the delay and suspension of a number of major projects due to security threats, the president's office said in a statement.
The key projects facing these problems included the construction of roads, water dams, mines and telecommunication. The meeting was held Monday evening and chaired by President Hamid Karzai, the statement said.

Work on several projects has already stopped for months due to security threats.
According a report presented at the meeting, work on the road Dar-i-Sauf-Pul-i-Buraq in the northern province of Samangan has been stopped for the last eight months because militants had kidnapped one worker, killed another and wounded five others, it said.

The 120 kilometer road connects Dara-i-Sauf district in Samangan with neighboring Balkh province. Meanwhile work on building a second lane on the Kabul-Nangarhar road was also suspended due to the burning of 13 vehicles belonging to a construction company.

Work on a 121 km road connecting the southwestern province of Farah with Iran has also been stopped due to the kidnapping of 16 workers of an Iranian construction company.
About 14 of the workers were Iranian, and they were later released with the help of local elders. Work on the road began two years ago, but only 20 km of it had been constructed so far, local officials said.

The report also said that work on Daimirdad-Chak road had been stopped for the last 13 months, due to the killing of a worker of a construction company and abduction of six others.
According to the report, about 53 workers from different construction companies had been killed, 17 wounded and about 110 others kidnapped by assailants since 2005, the statement said.

There have also been several security problems affecting the supply of construction materials to the Salma hydroelectric dam in the western province of Herat. The security threats also caused the postponement of the extension of an electricity line from Naghlo Dam to Nangarhar province.

Speaking to the cabinet, President Karzai said that those creating security problems for fundamental projects had joined hands for the destruction of Afghanistan.
Karzai ordered the officials concerned to take further steps in order to maintain the security of the projects and speed up the work, the statement said.