Page 45 - IRANRptFeb20

blackout​ they imposed on the country once the unrest became substantial.
9.1.8​ Construction & property sector news
The sale of several properties owned by the Iranian state in Albania, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan has been proposed in a letter sent to the Rouhani cabinet by Iran’s foreign ministry, according to details published by​ Cabinetoffice.ir​.
The properties include apartments, embassy buildings and land. Some of the properties are said to be in the way of redevelopment plans drawn up by the host cities. Unofficially, however, social media users are pointing to the empty coffers of the foreign ministry as the real reason for the sales appetite, with Iran struggling economically given the US sanctions throttling its economy. According to the foreign ministry, two buildings belonging to the Iranian embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan are within the scope of the city’s ‘urban development plan’. Also, a piece of land belonging to the Iranian embassy in Tirana, Albania, initially purchased for the construction of the embassy's residence, is said to be unsuitable for the purpose, while five apartments owned by Iran’s mission in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, are on the ministry's for sale list.
Iran has dozens of embassies globally, with the vast majority of prime properties purchased during the time of the last Shah prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In recent years, Iran has sought to offload properties including valuable assets in London's Kensington district, where a proposed futuristic-looking Iranian embassy was rejected by planners and objected to by Prince Charles. Americans claiming to be victims of Iranian state-sponsored terrorism—with such claims typically made in the US courts even when the terrorist atrocity has no provable direct relation to Iran—have also sought to achieve the sale of Iranian state-owned properties abroad. US plaintiffs have attempted to obtain legal orders making them cashable assets from which compensation payments can be drawn.
A contract on the construction of a joint Iranian-Azerbaijani industrial park in Iran’s northwestern Ardabil province has been signed, province Governor Akbar Behnamcu said, Trend reported on January 29.
The contract was signed by the Iran Small Industrial and Industrial Parks Organisation (ISIPO) and Ardabil province local authorities. The two sides will reportedly help finance the building of the park. The signing follows a formal agreement between Iran and Azerbaijan to create a joint industrial park in Ardabil's Parsabad county.
The matter was discussed by Iran's Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Reza Rahmani and Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev during a visit to Iran.
Establishing the 95 hectare park is to open doors for both foreign and local investors, officials say.
Previously, secretary general of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Chamber of Commerce, Hussein Vosuqi Irani, told Trend that Iranian and Azerbaijani manufacturers would jointly produce products in the industrial park.
The average price for a square metre of a residential unit in Tehran stood at Iranian rial (IRR) 127mn ($3,016 at the official exchange rate, $1,123 at the free market rate) at the end of the Persian calendar month of Mehr (ended October 22), marking 0.4% m/m and 47.7% y/y increases, ILNA
45​ IRAN Country Report​ February 2020 www.intellinews.com