The Qosh Tepa Canal being built in northern Afghanistan is anticipated to divert around 20 percent of water from the Amu Darya, a central Asian major river that flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
The main canal is to be 177 miles long and seeks to convert around 550,000 hectares of desert into farmland, according to The Economist. It begins in the Balk Province and is expected to end in Faryab, having passed through Jowzjan.
The Taliban-run government made it a priority project and implemented it soon after they seized power in 2021. Construction began in early 2022 and is viewed as a major test of the Taliban’s ability to govern.
The idea of a canal in this area was initially approved in the 1970s under the rule of the USSR. A formal regime to divide the Amu’s waters among the four ex-USSR republics – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – was made during the Soviet period, but being internal to the USSR agreements did not reflect Afghanistan’s interests, nor were they party to any regional or international treaties on the use of transboundary river waters.
The Afghan government argued that their country has a generic right to use the waters, irrespective of any formal agreement in place.
The first phase of the Qosh Tepa Canal project was completed in October, with the Taliban government’s National Development Company (which is contracting out design and construction work to Afghan construction companies) reporting that the first 68-mile phase of the 152-metre wide, 8.5-metre deep canal had finished ahead of schedule.
Phase two of the project commenced immediately, with designs suggesting that it will stretch 109 miles from Dawlat Abad district in Balkh to Andkhoi city in the Faryab province. Construction for the entire project is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
The project has been divided into three phases, according to Construction Briefing, with two digging phases and a third of installing irrigation systems.
Funding such a large project is no mean feat – especially for a country that remains the subject of strict international sanctions.
Construction of the first phase is thought to stand around $177 million, or £91 million. This is said to make up around a quarter of the country’s annual income. Due to the sanctions against it, including by the United Nations, all the money must come from the Afghan state.
Officials say that over 5,500 people are working directly on the project, using 3,405 construction machines.
There are hopes that, once the Qosh Tepa Canal is complete, Afghanistan will become self-sufficient in wheat and other grains for the first time since the 1970s. However, the project has angered the neighbouring Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The countries say that they could both lose up to 15 percent of the current water flow from their territories.
It is not just these countries that have shared their concerns about the project. There is widespread concern from independent experts and engineers that the government does not possess the knowledge to effectively complete the project. For example, it has been noted that there is a lack of oversight with rudimentary construction methods being employed.
In December 2023, many of these fears were realised when it was reported that the canal suffered a major breach. Satellite images showed a large body of water beginning to pool where the embankment had collapsed.
There are also environmental concerns around the project, with fears that it will make the Aral Sea situation – which has been drying up at a significant rate – worse by diverting more water from the Amu. Analysis by the independent CABAR.asia concluded that the likelihood of water loss in the canal is high.