TEHRAN – Iran has inaugurated a series of road and transport projects worth 329.01 trillion rials (about $6.63 billion) during Government Week, the head of the Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization said.

Reza Akbari said the projects include road safety upgrades, rural road development, intelligent transport systems, and new infrastructure. Among them was the elimination of 281 accident-prone black spots on major highways at a cost of 25.5 trillion rials ($510 million).

Other initiatives included new facilities at border terminals, three police and inspection centers, and 27 roadside service and rest complexes. The agency also completed 34 new bridges and refurbished 115 others with a combined budget of 95.3 trillion rials ($1.9 billion).

To improve road safety, authorities installed 385 km of new concrete and steel guardrails and added 45 km of roadway lighting plus 600 lighting points, costing 17 trillion rials ($340 million). Eight new road maintenance stations and eight salt storage depots were also completed.

Akbari said 2,200 km of asphalt resurfacing on arterial roads was carried out with a budget of 75 trillion rials ($1.5 billion), while 1,556 km of secondary and rural roads were resurfaced, widened or improved. In addition, 669 km of new rural roads were built at a cost of 68.3 trillion rials ($1.37 billion).

The ministry also purchased 400 road maintenance machines for 80 trillion rials ($1.6 billion) and repaired or upgraded 1,500 others with a budget of 35 trillion rials ($700 million).

As part of the shift toward digitalization, 84 intelligent transport systems were upgraded with 10 trillion rials ($200 million). Five additional infrastructure and technology projects worth 8.7 trillion rials ($174 million) were launched in various provinces.

Separately, 27 privately funded roadside service complexes valued at 166.2 trillion rials ($3.3 billion) were inaugurated. Akbari estimated the total current value of the Government Week projects at 433.8 trillion rials ($8.67 billion).

EF/