KABUL - The US Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide $1,300 million over the next four years to help modernize power supply systems in Afghanistan. Officials in ministry of finance said on Wednesday that $980 million of the fund will be spent through the government budget in fields with high priority.
The funding which will be provided through a Memorandum of Understanding will be spent in power transmission, supply and distribution systems, officials said.

Part of the funding will be earmarked for capacity building programs in power supply fields. "This is the first time that such a big amount of money will be spent through the government budget," Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal said.

The ministry highlighted the importance of power for rapid development in Afghanistan.