TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday inaugurated a new passenger terminal within the Imam Khomeini International Airport in southern Tehran.

The domestically-constructed “Salam Terminal” has a capacity to transport five million passengers per year and is planned to operate both domestic and international flights, Mehr reported.

The president, accompanied by a delegation, visited different parts of the terminal before performing the inauguration ceremony.

Addressing the ceremony, Rouhani said, “I am glad that today, in the wake of the toughest economic sanctions, we have achieved a success in the air industry of the country.”

“The people of Iran will disappoint the enemies by being hopeful and fervent, preventing them from reaching their goals,” ikac.ir quoted Rouhani as saying.

“Despite all hardships and pressures that the enemies have imposed on us with the aim of convincing our people that the country’s development has stopped and the people are hopeless about the future, we are witnessing new developments in the economy of the country every day.”

“The opening of this terminal is different from other economic projects; it means cooperation and unity among different sectors in completing such an important social, economic and cultural project,” the president explained.

Referring to tourism as a key goal of the government, Rouhani said, “Development of the country’s air industry is the best and easiest way for the development of the tourism industry”.

“Today, we are able to provide other countries with services in many technical and engineering fields, in a way that officials of foreign countries state in bilateral meetings that the Iranian companies’ quality and pace are so much better than other countries,” he said.

IKAC CEO Ali Rostami’s talk in the ceremony, defined domestic development of the gigantic structure, saying: “The terminal was designed and built by an Iranian expert team under the sanctioned conditions of the country and the Salam International Terminal has been set up completely by domestic firms.”

“Today, despite sanctions and pressures, our airplanes and air industry is working; this is normal for a country that has no problem buying airliners and maintenance parts, but in our country, we are achieving that under pressures and problems.”

On June 8, the terminal was fully passed the test Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) to ensure a smart and streamlined operational readiness preparation.

Currently, IKIA only carries out international flights. But plans are underway to transfer a portion of domestic flights to Imam Khomeini International Airport after the inauguration of Salam Terminal.

IKIA has been distinguished as the third fastest-growing major airport in the world, Mehr reported. “Reportedly, plans are underway to add another terminal to the airport.”

Back in May, Kjell Kloosterziel, the head of steering committee at the Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO), paid a visit to the passenger terminal, saying that he felt it has been a success.

The Salaam International Terminal is a successful project for the country’s airport industry and “I think you can be only proud of your country,” Kloosterziel said.

Imam Khomeini International Airport registered 47,446 takeoffs and landings in the last Iranian fiscal year that ended March 20, 2019 to register a 19% decline. Over 7.27 million passengers and around 141,704 tons of cargos were transported from the airport during the period to be ranked third on the list of Iran’s busiest airports. The figures show a 19% and 14% decline year on year.

AFM/MQ/MG