Date: 10 May 1999
Time: 13:42:53
Remote Name: 12.72.10.151
TEHRAN The Governor-General of Khorasan Province Mohsen Mehralizadeh said here yesterday that Sarakhs special trade zone is to become a free trade zone for exchange of goods with other countries including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Speaking to the TEHRAN TIMES, Mehralizadeh added that, considering the geographical and strategic position of Sarakhs, it can better act as a free trade zone inviting foreign countries to open bank accounts there. However, the government maintains that Sarakhs should hold the name of `special zone', and that it should have the privileges of a free trade zone.
The plan is to be presented to the Majlis for approval, he said. Mehralizadeh added that Sarakhs special zone is active in storing goods, supply, transit and swap of fuel, transit of second-hand vehicles and spare parts from other countries and selling them to CIS.
Asked about the trade ties between Iran and the northern neighbors bordering Khorasan Province, he said that after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, trade ties with the newly-independent republics were further expanded.
However, in order to prevent losses, the Iranian businessmen should try to further get acquainted with the markets in those republics, and a regular banking system should also be set up to support them, he added. A commercial center for Iranians is under construction in Ashkhabad, the capital city of Turkmenistan, he said, adding, It would be a center for Iranian businessmen to get more information on investment, industrial activities, banking, investment limitations and the trade regulations in the countries which are their partners.
It would expand and boost the traditional trade. The governor-general of Khorasan Province added that another international commercial center has been established in Khorasan with 70 pavilions for presenting different products from inside and outside the country.
An international cultural, historical and tourism center is to be constructed around Ferdowsi's tomb near Mashhad with allocation of Rls.7 billion, he said. Regarding the increase in flights between Mashhad and other countries, he said direct flights were set up between Mashhad and Quetta in Pakistan last week.
Dhahran-Mashhad and Baku-Mashhad flights will also be inaugurated soon. There are currently flights between Mashhad and Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Syria and Dubai, he added. Mehralizadeh went on to say that the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan have their political representatives in Mashhad.
On the measures to be taken to improve economic conditions of the southern parts of Khorasan, he said that there is no possibility of promoting agriculture there because the land in southern parts of the province is mostly desert.
But the southern regions of the province enjoy other potentials, and investments are to be made in such fields as mining. Those regions have also over two billion tons of mineral reserves like ornamental stones, Mehralizadeh said.
He added, A steel plant is to be set up in Neishabour by next year, and over Rls.21 billion has been earmarked for the project. Foreign investment has also been made in Tabas to set up the first coal power plant in the southern part of Khorasan.
Talks have been held with Austrian, British and Canadian delegations on mining. On the plan to divide Khorasan Province into two provinces, he said the plan is under consideration by the government. Most of the people in Khorasan believe that the share of this large province from the country's oil is the same as those of other small provinces.
Therefore, if it is divided, it can have a greater share and there will be more development in the different parts of the province. The governor-general added, Over 10 to 12 million Iranians and foreigners visit Khorasan annually.
In order to boost the tourism industry, Khorasan's tourism organization has been activated and facilities have been provided at customs offices of Mashhad, Sarakhs, Bajgiran and Lotfabad for the tourists. Khorasan Province is the largest province in Iran, which constitutes 20 percent of the country's land.
It has a population of six million, which accounts for 10 percent of the country's total population.