KABUL, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Authorities began construction of the first-ever cold storage in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika province on Thursday, Deputy Provincial governor Mawlawi Makhdom Abdul Salam Sadat said Friday.
Aimed at helping the farmers to preserve their fruits and vegetables in the storage, the facility at a cost of 95 million afghani (around 1.4 million U.S. dollars) would be constructed in 25 acres of land, the official added.
Financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, the cold storage with a capacity of 600 tons would be completed within 18 months in the provincial capital of Sharan, he said. ■