Page 56 - IRANRptJun22

Iran, Qatar to launch shipping lines, mention made of building tunnel under Gulf
Director general of Iran’s Chabahar Free Zone reported as arrested for “major offences”
When finished, the railway line will extend across 225 km, linking Khaf in eastern Iran with Herat in western Afghanistan. Work on the line began as far back as 2007.
Iran and Qatar plan to launch regular shipping lines between the two countries’ ports, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi has announced.
Officials of Tehran and Doha are also discussing the possibility of one day constructing a tunnel under the Persian Gulf to link the two countries, PressTV has reported. However, the distance it would need to traverse would be more than 125 kilometres. Such infrastructure would cost many billions of dollars. Qatari and Iranian officials met on the development of transport, commercial and economic ties between the two countries.
They also agreed to expand cooperation between Qatar Air and Iranian destinations and connecting flights.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was due in Qatar on February 21 to participate in the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries, running from February 20 to 22.
The director general of Iran's Chabahar Free Zone, an economic development project in the southeast of the country centred on the sole Iranian oceanic port, has been arrested for "major offences", state news agency IRNA reported on January 23.
Abdorahim Kordi was placed in custody by the prosecutor in Sistan-Baluchistan province, according to a cited statement from the intelligence branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Details on the allegations made against Kordi were not provided.
Kordi was made director general of the free trade zone in 2016.
Chabahar port, located on the Gulf of Oman about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Pakistan, enables ships to avoid the busy Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for shipping moving in and out of the Persian Gulf.
By 2015, about 2,000 companies had a presence in the zone, AFP said. Half were said to be from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Gulf, while 30% were from China and other Asian countries. The remaining 20% were from the West. When the US reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran in 2018, Chabahar port was the only Iranian port that was granted an exemption from the sanctions given its importance to developing the economy of landlocked Afghanistan. Iran is jointly developing the port with India, which lies directly across the Indian Ocean from Chabahar.
9.1.5 Tourism sector news
Tehran’s mayor outlines ambitions for several 5-to-7-star hotels
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani has proposed that several 5-to-7-star hotels should be built on parklands around the capital city in an attempt to secure an upgrade on ageing hotel infrastructure, local English magazine Living in Tehran reported on February 13.
Prior to the reintroduction of heavy sanctions on Iran by the US around four years ago, several big international hotel brands including Ibis and Novotel established a presence in Iran. Like other foreign investors, they pulled out of the country, fearing secondary sanctions threatened by the former Trump administration.
"We are planning to build hotels that are 5-to-7-star in several Tehran parkland locations," Zakani said, following a meeting of the city municipality. Financial backing for the project could be awarded by state authorities following the
56 IRAN Country Report June 2022 www.intellinews.com