Iran launches $310mln worth of urban development projects

According to reports, Rouhani used a video conference call on Thursday to launch the projects in major cities, including in the capital Tehran and in two mega cities of Mashhad and Tabriz.

The president used a video conference call on Thursday to launch the projects in major cities, including in the capital Tehran and in two mega cities of Mashhad and Tabriz.

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said a total of 79.5 trillion rials had been spent on the projects that covered subway expansion schemes in Tehran and Tabriz where key stations were opened in on Thursday. Subway systems in four metropolitan cities were also equipped by 50 new rolling stocks supplied by a domestic manufacturer.

A waste-to-energy (WtE) plant also came on line in Mazandaran, a northern province where trash pileups along the coast of the Caspian Sea has been a major concern for environmental activists in recent years.

The modern WtE plant in the city of Noshahr is the second largest of its type in Iran with a production capacity of 3 megawatts per hour for 200 tons of waste burnt per day.

The urban development projects opened on Thursday also included intercity travel improvement schemes in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city with a population of over 3.5 million people.

Rouhani, who normally holds weekly inauguration ceremonies for major infrastructure projects, said his administration had actively worked over the past seven years to improve living standards in urban areas.

The president cited the improved quality of gasoline burnt in large cities as a major achievement, saying lower pollution in metropolitan areas had helped Iran's health system better cope with a spread of the coronavirus in Iran that began earlier this year. 

SS