New Zealand’s government will provide NZ$18.6 million ($15 million) for a solar energy system in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province.

New Zealand companies NetCon Ltd. and Sustainable Energy Services International were awarded the contract, with construction expected to finish by the end of 2013, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said in an e-mailed statement.

The 1.05 megawatt solar plant will be the largest in Afghanistan and will provide power for as many as 2,500 homes, businesses and government buildings, according to the release.

To contact the reporter on this story: Iain Wilson in Sydney at Iwilson2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Bourke at cbourke4@bloomberg.net