TEHRAN – Iranian President President Hassan Rouhani via video conferencing on Thursday inaugurated several national roads and urban development projects.
“The projects, including 321 km of main roads and highways, together with 16 port projects and a number of road improvement projects and flood reconstruction,” Minister of Roads and Urban Development Muhammad Eslami said, addressing the ceremony.
“Regarding the development of Iran’s transport infrastructure, we could build about 11,000 kilometers of main roads, highways, and freeways under the 11th and 12th governments, many of which were inaugurated and some will be opened in the next few days,” he added.
“About 50% of the country’s freeway capacity has increased and the length of the country’s highways has increased by 60% and also the length of railways has increased by 40%,” Eslami noted.
“We have connected 5 provinces to the railway network and the other 3 provinces will be completed soon.”

Iran Expands Terminal Yard Area in Shahid Rajaee Port

Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization CEO Muhammad Rastad said that three wharf posts in Shahid Rajaei port were launched for the oil tankers to dock which facilitates oil exports.
Shahid Rajaee Port has been expanded to include 31 hectares of new container terminal yard.
The expansion scheme was part of six new development projects opened at Rajaee Port.
The projects included the rollout of two modern massive dredgers, a new container wharf and three new crude berths, said the report.
The projects had kicked off in 2017 when Rouhani vowed during a visit to the Shahid Rajaee Port Complex that his government would modernize the facility to improve its competitiveness with large ports in the Persian Gulf and around the world.
Rastad said that the new wharf opened at Rajaee port would be able to accommodate large ships with capacities of up to 18,400 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
Rastad said the port is now capable of simultaneously processing three 400-meter ocean-liners with a draft of 17.5 meters.
Including its older facilities at the nearby port of Bandar Abbas, the Shahid Rajaee Port Complex is considered Iran’s largest trade gateway.
Government figures show that the port is currently responsible for 60% of Iran’s imports and exports.
Iran has continued to invest in ports in its south and north despite restrictions imposed by the United States on the country’s trade activities since 2018.
The government has introduced major development projects in Iran’s single ocean port of Chabahar, located on the Sea of Oman in southeast coasts of the country.
Meantime, addressing the ceremony, President Rouhani said that “we are proud that in the conditions during the hard economic war and the coronavirus outbreak, God helped us to continue the path of creating a surge in production, as well as supporting and removing the obstacles of production with strength.”
He referred to the inauguration of important plans and projects in the field of roads, urban planning, sports and youth in different cities of the country, and said, “The inauguration of about 21,000 billion Tomans of plans and projects in one day, despite the difficult conditions of economic war, is very important.”
Rouhani said that Iran’s highways have increased from 12,000 to 20,000 kilometers, adding, “In the field of railways, very good measures have been taken in the last 8 years and the connection of the country’s railways and its role in transit is very important.”
He also pointed to the measures taken by the government for the development of the country’s ports, saying, “Development of Makran Coasts is one of the important measures and honors of this government.”