BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 20. Iran has opened 84 new facilities in various sectors such as industry, mining, fishing and tourism in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan since the start of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2023), said Betul Shahraki the head of the Investment and Employment Affairs Department of the provincial governor’s office, Trend reports.
Shahraki said that the facilities cost about 7.77 trillion rials (around $185 million) and created jobs for 1,164 people.
She highlighted the strategic location of Sistan and Baluchestan, which has a 1,200-km long border with Pakistan and Afghanistan and a coastline on the Persian Gulf.
The director general noted that the province can benefit from the access to the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and other countries in the Indian Ocean.
Shahraki also mentioned that the province has Chabahar port and five airports in operation.
Moreover, the construction of the Chabahar-Milak-Sarakhs railway, which connects the province to the eastern route of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), will boost the economic development of the province, she added.
The foundation of the ‘International North-South Transport Corridor’ was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000. In total, 13 countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Russia, Türkiye, etc.
The purpose of creating a corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo from India to Russia, as well as to North and West Europe. Delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via North-South Transport Corridor.
The INSTC has 3 routes on Iran's territory. The eastern route is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the middle route is Russia and other countries via the Caspian Sea, and the western route is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Eastern European countries.
---
Follow the author on X (Twitter):@BaghishovElnur