Six border cities planned as Iran expands coastal development
Iran plans to build six new cities along its northern and southern borders with capacity for around 1 million residents, as part of a strategy focused on developing coastal and border regions, the deputy roads and urban development minister said.
Shahram Maleki said the cities would be built in the provinces of Golestan, Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchestan on more than 38,000 hectares of land, according to IRNA.
Maleki, who serves as head of New Towns Development Company, said the aim of developing new cities was to create additional residential capacity in line with national priorities, adding that the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development was seeking to expand housing capacity through these towns in cooperation with the private sector.
"Out of the six new cities planned to be built along Iran's northern and southern borders, some are in the design stage while others have entered the construction phase," Maleki said.
The new city of Alagol, located in the Incheh Borun border area in northeastern Golestan Province, will home a population capacity of 100,000 people and cover 1,400 hectares, he said.
Ownership documents for the new city have also been issued in the name of the New Towns Development Company, according to Maleki.
"Five new cities are set to be developed on the southern coasts, including Tis, Makran, Central Makran, Koushk and Persian Gulf in the provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan and Hormozgan," Maleki said.
He put the population capacity of the five coastal cities at 900,000 people, covering a total area of around 37,000 hectares.
Maleki said construction of the new city of Tis is underway, while the proposed new cities of Makran, Central Makran and Koushk have secured site selection and feasibility study approvals from the Supreme Council of Urban Planning and Architecture and are now preparing their master plans.
He added that the Persian Gulf new city has also completed the site selection and feasibility study stages at the provincial level.