TEHRAN — Headquarters for sustainable renovation of run-down areas in the capital city of Tehran has been established, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said on Thursday. 

“After two years of putting off the matter the headquarters for sustainable renovation of the run-down areas in Tehran was formed… we are planning on taking effective steps by mobilizing integrated management and public participation to renovate the run-down areas,” Hanachi wrote in Persian on his twitter account. 

Moreover, Tehran city councilor Zahra Nejad-Bahram, said on Thursday that the headquarters for sustainable renovation of run-down areas was set up with the purpose of launching projects in 18 run-down neighborhoods in the capital, Mehr news agency reported. 

In November, Kaveh Ali-Akbari head of the renovation of rundown areas organization affiliated to the Municipality of Tehran, said that according to the statistics published in the Iranian calendar year of 1385 (March 2006-March 2007) rundown areas constitute some 5 percent of the total areas in the capital. 

While the data is pretty old and must be revised it is highly likely that an earthquake, possibly measuring greater than magnitude 7 on Richter scale hit the city and cause irreparable damage to such neighborhoods. 

In December 2017, MP Sadif Badri told IRIB that the budget allocated to renovation of the run-down areas in the budget bill is limited.

Considering the vastness of run-down areas in the country, the budget allocated to this sector is pretty low, Badri said, adding some 20 million live in such areas stretching over 130,000 hectares of the country.

MQ/MG