Makoran Coast Development model, a crucial test for government
Masoud Pezeshkian has recently announced that the Makoran Coast in southern Iran is set to be introduced as a “new model of development and economic and political hub of the country”.
During a recent meeting, the second session of “Reviewing and Analyzing Maritime Development Plans with an Emphasis on the Makran Coast,” the Iranian president outlined several strategies to expedite the development of Makoran:
- Boosting the local economy
- Providing energy infrastructure with a focus on renewable energy sources
- Speeding up the completion of the region’s transportation corridors in collaboration with international partners
- Attracting and concentrating both domestic and foreign investment in Makoran
According to the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development and the Managing Director of the Ports and Shipping Organization, during the session, the president instructed the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development to formulate a comprehensive maritime development plan, focusing on the Makoran Coast, utilizing both international and domestic consultants, and clearly defining the tasks and responsibilities of executive bodies in this matter.
In light of the president’s decree appointing Ali Abdolalizadeh as the “president’s representative for coordinating the implementation of maritime development policies,” it is evident that the government’s strategy for the country’s development centers on maritime initiatives, particularly focusing on the Makoran Coast. This indicates that the government is determined to transform the Makoran Coast (Oman Sea) into a center of sustainable development and, as they describe it, a “new model of development and economic and political hub of the country.”
The Makoran region is a critical zone with a strategic geopolitical position and significant development potential, which has been on the radar of policymakers and mentioned in high-level documents for several decades. However, despite this, a strong will to implement development plans for this region has never materialized, and in practice, it has encountered numerous challenges and obstacles.
It must be acknowledged that the efforts made thus far for maritime development, including the preparation and approval of high-level documents and other initiatives, are insufficient and require consideration of specific requirements. These requirements include:
1-Creating a shared understanding of Makoran Coast development among the government and elites
2- Focusing on the sustainable development of the region, ensuring resident satisfaction and participation while benefiting the local community from the fruits of progress
3- Aligning national development policies with regional development strategies
4- Fostering unity in project management and national task allocation
According to the general policies of maritime development, which stress integrated maritime policymaking and national task allocation, along with agile and efficient sea management, the foremost priority is to create a unified management structure for policymaking and overseeing executive affairs in maritime development. However, at present, various structures within the government assert responsibility for managing all or parts of the coast.
These include:
1- The Makoran Coast Development Council, approved by the cabinet (chaired by the First Vice President).
2- The president’s Representative for Implementing Maritime Development Policies (Abdolalizadeh).
3- The Planning and Budget Organization, as the developmental institution in charge of managing the project.
4- The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, especially with the president’s recent mandate to the ministry, claims to be in charge of assigning tasks to other executive bodies.
In practice, the management of maritime development is being pulled in different directions by “multiple forces within the government”, which has resulted in the stagnation of executive plans and confusion among investors, local residents, as well as mid-level managers and infrastructure project managers in the region.
President Pezeshkian emphasized the need to develop a maritime development plan using reputable foreign consultants during the second maritime development session, and tasked the Ports and Maritime Organization with following up on this matter. It is essential to note that the following documents already exist:
A) The Makoran region development document, approved by the Urban Planning and Architecture Commission (communicated in December 2018)
B) The land-use planning of the Makoran Coast development, approved by the Supreme Council of Spatial Planning (in October 2019).
C) The comprehensive plan for the development of the Makoran Coast, the main points of which were approved by the government in December 2023, as well as the program for implementing the development policies for the Makoran Coast approved by the previous government, which was prepared by the Planning and Budget Organization and reviewed by the infrastructure working group of the organization, are available and have been confirmed from various aspects.
Considering the aforementioned points, and to resolve the deadlock of infighting among government structures and prevent the mismanagement of public funds, while establishing a cohesive management framework for policymaking and overseeing the execution of maritime development projects, the following options merit exploration:
A) Vice President should revive the activities of the Makoran development council under his management by appointing a new secretary and avoiding its delegation to the coordination deputy. In this case, it would be fitting for the cabinet to grant the Council for the Development of Makoan more authority.
B) Alternatively, if the above option is not feasible, the cabinet should dissolve the council and hand over the integrated management to Abdolalizadeh, with the approval of effective authorities in accordance with Article 127 of the Constitution. Moreover, given the experiences, track records, and partial mandates of various government agencies, it is advisable to steer clear of delegating the management of Makoran’s development to the Planning and Budget Organization and other ministries, including the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. It’s important to mention that previously, the management of Makoran’s development was entrusted to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, but it didn’t exactly achieve remarkable success. Historically, the Planning and Budget Organization has struggled with effectively managing regional development structures, including the Sistan Development Organization.
In conclusion, to execute the president’s orders for developing a new program, it is essential to first avoid any potential setbacks by using the existing documents as the foundation for the work. Secondly, these documents should be reviewed by the responsible agency at a minimum, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and a decision should be made on how to revise them. Thirdly, in accordance with the implementation of Article 68 of the Permanent Development Laws, the bill for establishing the Makoran Coast Development Organization, previously sent to Parliament, should be revised to meet the approval of various ministries before being resubmitted to Parliament. Fourthly, the resolutions from the previous term (2022-2024) of the Council for the Development of Makoran should be thoroughly reviewed due to their non-operational nature.
The article was penned by Mahmoud Hosseini in the Persian language Shargh newspaper.