Khorramabad Highway set to open

The Road and Transportation Office of the southwestern province of Lorestan says the Khorramabad-Zal Bridge Highway will become operational on Tuesday.

Abbas Rezaei, the head of the office, told IRNA late on Sunday night that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend the inauguration ceremony of the highway.

He noted that the freeway is one of the most important road and transportation projects of the country during the tenure of the incumbent government.

Some $700 million has been allocated for this undertaking, which will be inaugurated ahead of schedule, the official pointed out.

The Khorramabad-Zal Bridge Highway is 104 km long, has three lanes on each side, has 25 kilometers of tunnels, five kilometers of valley bridges and 280 small bridges.

Meanwhile, Iranian Road and Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani said on Saturday that his ministry intends to attract $25 billion of investments in the railroad sector.

The Iranian minister emphasized that expanding the railroad system is among the priorities of his ministry.

Referring to Tehran-Isfahan electric train project which has recently started, Behbahani noted, “This project requires about one year for preliminary studies.”