KABUL, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Afghan authorities will build a new residential township to accommodate 4,000 returnee families in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province, the local media outlet Tolo news reported Saturday.

The township will be constructed on 3,000 acres of land in Kandahar's Zhari district and will include residential plots along with key public facilities such as schools, health centers, and water supply networks, the report said.

The land allocation process for returning families is already underway in Daman and Zhari districts of this province, benefiting about 5,000 families, and additional housing projects are planned in several districts to address the needs of returnee families nationwide, the report added.

Afghanistan has experienced a notable increase in migrant returnees in recent months, and data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) shows that nearly 2.8 million Afghans have returned from neighboring countries so far this year. ■