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a route east that would exit Afghanistan on the border with Tajikistan. From there, the route would continue east to Kyrgyzstan before entering China through the valleys of the Tian Shan mountain range. A likely terminus in China would purportedly be Kashgar, an oasis city in Southern Xinjiang, with existing spurs heading north to Urumqi and connecting to China’s high-speed national rail network and through west to Kazakhstan.
The Khaf-Herat railway was in December 2020 inaugurated as the first cross-border railway link between Iran and Afghanistan. However, an 85-km stretch in Afghanistan running from Ghurian to Herat is still to be completed. 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.
9.1.5 Tourism sector news
Kazakhstan introduces 42-day visa-free regime for Chinese, Indian and Iranian citizens
Tehran’s mayor outlines ambitions for several 5-to-7-star hotels
The Kazakh government has announced that it has granted a visa-free regime for citizens of China, India and Iran that allows them to stay in the Central Asian nation without a visa for up to 42 days within every 180-day period.
Visa-free stays for Chinese, Indian and Iranian citizens are now permitted for tourism, business or private matters.
The visitors are not permitted to work or perform any paid activity in Kazakhstan with a visa-free entry.
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 altering of a legislative clause that presently forbade the city government from entering into developments with a large footprint, he added.
After foreign brands departed Iran under US pressure, many newly constructed hotels across the country were left to operate under local brands, without any foreign oversight. This was the case with two airport hotels originally due to come under the Ibis Group. In recent months, they have been slated for staff unprofessionalism on Trip Advisor.
Iranians and expatriates from 2016-2018 invested in renovating hundreds of historic buildings to create guesthouses in cities including Tehran, Kashan and Shiraz. Such investments have been hit by poor trade in recent years, partly due to the effect Washington’s renewed hostility to Iran had on international tourism in the country and partly due to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many of the guesthouses were mothballed.
57 IRAN Country Report August 2022 www.intellinews.com