KABUL - An Arab-American company plans to open the biggest food processing company in the region in Afghanistan, creating thousands of jobs, the Afghan Investment Support Agency (AISA) said on Saturday.
ANHAM will invest $100 million in Afghanistan to build a food processing plant and a logistics hub covering 5,000 hectares of land. The plant will be able to process agricultural produce from Afghanistan and neighboring countries. The company also said it will help find international buyers for Afghanistan's food products.

This is the second biggest foreign investment in the country after the multi-billion dollar investment of the Metallurgical Corp of China in Logar province's Anyak copper mine.

ANHAM formed in 2004 and is a joint venture between a Saudi Arabian and a US company. The business operates in South and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. It also supplies food for foreign troops in Afghanistan.

"At this centre, food and fruit will be packed and processed to international standards," said Noorullah Delawari, AISA's director.

The High Commission on Investment said the land for this project will be provided very soon. Building work is scheduled to take nine months.