Afghanistan offers to export marble to Turkmenistan
Afghanistan is ready to export marble and onyx to Turkmenistan, said President Ghani during a joint press conference with Turkmen counterpart in Ashgabat on Monday. Afghanistan has sizeable reserves of marble and other semi-precious stones though exact volume of reserves is not known because of the absence of any recent scientific survey. Some of the deposits of marble and onyx are located in Herat and Faryab, two of the Afghan provinces bordering with Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan prefers white marble cladding for most of the new constructions. The proximity of Afghanistan is likely to open a cheaper and reliable source of marble for Turkmenistan. Currently Afghanistan exports about USD 15 million worth of marble but it is estimated that the export volume can be raised to nearly USD 450 million.
