Kandahar airport named after Ahmad Shah Abdali

The airport was named by President Ashraf Ghani soon after he arrived in the southern province on Wednesday.

Ahmad Shah Abdali, affectionately nicknamed “Ahmad Shah baba” by Afghans, founded the modern state in 1747 after serving in Persia. He carved a huge empire that extended from Mashad in modern Iran to Lahore in modern Pakistan, from the Amu Darya in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. The capital of Durrani’s empire was Kandahar.

During the visit, Ghani also inaugurated newly-built 16.4 kilometre road between Kandahar airport and the city’s Durahi area.

The road was built at the cost of 2.8 billion afghanis which came through the government’s development budget.

The president also inaugurated solar power network with capacity to produce 30 megawatts of electricity. The project costed of $38 million.