Iran’s Raeisi unveils housing plan: Four million housing units to be built in four years

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Raeisi said soaring housing prices had been “a major obstacle” in the way of the youth getting married and starting families, pledging efforts to construct affordable housing units to soothe the concern.

“I have advised the youth to get married and we will start pursuing the construction of housing units for them from the very first day of the administration in office. I think four million housing units could be built within four years,” he said.

The Iranians, especially the residents of Tehran and other large cities, have seen the prices of houses and apartments rising sharply over the past years.

The inflation in residential property market has largely been blamed on a confluence of the country’s economic problems caused by draconian US sanctions and homegrown mismanagement and failed policies to tackle the issues.

Meanwhile, Tasnim cited Afshin Parvinpour, an ex-member of the country’s Supreme Housing Commission, as saying that a team of experts and researchers had been examining Raeisi’s project for seven months.

The project will be financed with bank resources, with zero spending from the national budget, Parvinpour said. “In this project, it has been taken for granted that the country would remain under US sanctions for 100 more years.”

‘An anti-corruption administration’

Elsewhere, Raeisi said the second top measure on his economic agenda would be a campaign against corruption and bribery.

“All those who want to cooperate with the Administration of the People must know that this administration is against corruption,” said Raeisi, adding that his administration, if he is elected president, would first work to create the infrastructure required for the anti-graft campaign.

“Our [Islamic] Revolution was meant to [facilitate] the implementation of justice, but we were left behind.”