“Section-1 is 32 kilometers long, which is nearly 60 kilometers shorter than the current route. This section of the freeway connects Tehran to the western cities of Mazandaran Province in the north,” Mohammad Hossein Moqimi was also quoted as saying by IRNA on Sunday.
Preliminary plans to implement the freeway project, which consists of four sections spanning a total of 121 kilometers, were proposed about 20 years ago. The route is to connect Tehran to the city of Chalous in northern Mazandaran.
Sections 2 and 3 pass through mountainous terrain, are not easily accessible and will take longer to complete, according to Financial Tribune.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Mostazafan Foundation and China Railway Academy Company signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing on Jan. 24 for the financing and construction management of the project’s Section-3.
As per the MoU, the two sides are to survey different aspects and details of the project within five months and sign a contract if they reach an agreement.
Section-4, which is 20 kilometers long and connects Marzanabad in Kelardasht District to Chalous (both in Mazandaran), was inaugurated in March 2014, but closed later due to technical problems.
Mohammad Saeedikia, the head of Mostazafan Foundation, said last year that the protracted project will fully come on stream by March 2023.