TEHRAN - Several roads and urban development projects were inaugurated in a number of Iranian provinces in a ceremony participated by President Hassan Rouhani via video conferencing on Thursday.
The president inaugurated railroads and freeways in Yazd, Fars, Zanjan, Qazvin, Isfahan, Alborz and Mazandaran provinces worth of $2.6mn.
The Yazd-Eqlid railway is another project, which crosses through Abarkooh and creates a railroad link to Yasuj, capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. The Yazd-Eghlid railway covers 270 kilometers and helps better and fast transport of industrial, agricultural and mineral products.
The administration of President Rouhani has attempted to complete railroad transit in Northeast to Southwest as well as Southeast to Southwest of Iran.
It is expected that the railway transports four million tons of commodities and one million passengers in the first year after it becomes operational.
President Rouhani also inaugurated the railway track laying of Khash-Zahedan railway, which is a part of Chabahar-Zahedan railway. Another inaugurated project is Bostanabad-Khavaran railway in Tabriz, East Azarbaijan province.
Iran Opens West Asia’s
Longest Road Tunnel

The major project among the Thursday’s ceremony was the test driving through Alborz tunnel, which is the longest tunnel in the Middle East. The 9 kilometer-long tunnel is located in the second section of Tehran-North freeway.
The project has cost more than $160 million in direct government spending.
Rouhani ordered the inauguration of the tunnel during a video conference call from his office in Tehran.
The tunnel, which is 6.5 km (4.03 miles) long, runs through the eastern range of the Alborz in Iran’s north. It aims to reduce the time and cost of traveling between the capital Tehran and cities on the Caspian Sea coast.
The project has cost over 40 trillion rials. It is part of the second section of the Tehran-Shomal Highway, a massive project which is co-financed by the Iranian administrative government and Mostazafan Foundation (MFJ).