TEHRAN- About 580 kilometers of freeways will be inaugurated throughout Iran during the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021), Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami announced on Saturday.

Mentioning Transport and Urban Development Ministry’s plans for the current Iranian year, Eslami noted that one of the major programs that his ministry is going to pursue in this year is the National Housing Plan which aims to build 380,000 affordable housing units, ILNA reported.

Back in January, Deputy Transport and Urban Development Minister Kheirollah Khademi had announced that six prioritized freeways projects with a total length of 550 kilometers (KM) were planned to be inaugurated by the Iranian Calendar year of 1400 (starts on March 21, 2021).

“With these new freeways going operational, the length of the country's freeways will increase by nearly 25 percent,” Khademi, who is also the managing director of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC), said in a press conference.

According to the official, CDTIC has it on the agenda to build 3500 km of new freeways and highways across the country, nearly 1200 of which is currently under construction.

Khademi further noted that of the country’s total 38,000 kilometers of arterial roads, about 18,000 kilometers are highways and about 2400 kilometers are freeways.
According to the official, in the long run, the government plans to construct 18,000 kilometers of highways and freeways in the country. 

“So, considering the 3500 km of new freeways which are being constructed, still 15,000 km of new freeways and highways are expected to be built across the country,” Khademi added.

In mid-December 2019, Khademi announced that over 3,000 kilometers of railways and 1,200 kilometers of freeways were under construction in the country.
Roads account for 90 percent while railway accounts for 10 percent of transportation in Iran, according to the official.

EF/MA