TEHRAN – In a ceremony on Sunday, Iran Airports Company (IAC) signed 26 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with domestic investment companies to cooperate in airport development projects across the country.

The signing ceremony of the mentioned MOUs was attended by AIC Head Reza Nakhjavani and the deputy head of the mentioned company Ali Abdi, IRNA reported.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nakhjavani said the profitability of airports is the priority for investors; Because for investment, the private sector can adjust its economic plans with the amount of capital and profit.

“The documents that are concluded today in the form of memorandums of understanding will be followed up in the next steps to be signed as contracts,” the AIC head said.

Mentioning AIC’s Investment Atlas which was unveiled in the ceremony as well, the official said: “This document can provide the platform and conditions for investment, and on the other hand, it is in line with the government’s plans for engaging people in the country's economy.”

Also speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Abdi told the press that under the framework of the AIC Investment Atlas, the company has prepared 200 investment projects with a total value of 1.8 quadrillion rials (about $3.6 billion) to be offered to private investors.

“This atlas has been prepared with the two-year effort of colleagues in the Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company, in which 200 investment opportunities worth 180,000 billion tomans are defined and airports are introduced as a safe and profitable platform,” he said.

According to Abdi, the AIC Public Relations Office has designed and prepared a site to introduce airport investment opportunities, with full details of investment projects being showcased to interested parties.

Back in July, Nakhjavani had announced in a conference that AIC was offering new investment projects to interested investors.

Nakhjavani said a comprehensive roadmap has been compiled for the development of the country’s airports.

Referring to the plans for the development of Mehrabad Airport as the hub of domestic flights in the country, Nakhjavani said: “In the Seventh National Development Plan, it was proposed to transfer the maximum number of flights from this airport to Imam Khomeini Airport, but the proposal was rejected by a decisive vote of 95 percent of the parliament members.”

“Currently, the primary studies on the development of this airport (Mehrabad) with an area of 120,000 square meters have been completed, and the estimated budget for completing the project is 300 trillion rials (about $600 million),” he said.

According to Nakhjavani, the mentioned will be provided from the IAC internal resources and the company doesn’t need government funding.

“Now the country's airports are in favorable conditions and even if domestic flights increase, we will be able to provide optimal services,” the official added.

EF/MA