 |
The first plane lands in Imam
Khomeini International Airport in the presence of President Khatami |
|
Touch Down |
International transportation makes up such a share of government revenues,
that it has been focused on by many countries. Today regional and even
international trade has no meaning without transit. This has had favorable
affects in the field of air transport of goods and passengers as well as
trade, in particular in Central Asia and the Middle East.
The world is moving in this direction, and the globalization of economics with
due consideration for the volume of global trade, international transactions
and the spaghetti-like network of trade agreements have all influenced the
economic and even political policies of countries. The advancement of
technology has also brought countries closer together and the development of
transportation facilities can be critical in this regard.
In consideration for all of this, the Imam Khomeini International Airport was
formally inaugurated by President Mohammad Khatami on the onset of the
auspicious ‘Ten-Day Dawn’ (February 1-11) celebrations, marking the 25th
anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The airport has been built on an
area of 13,500 hectares at a total cost of over 2,600 billion rials plus $60
billion over 36 years. The project is expected to cost 5,000 billion rials
until it is completed. Some 75% of the project was implemented in the past
five years and 25% over the recent years.
An annul number of between 6 to 6.5 million passengers will use the airport in
its initial phase, 15 million in the second phase and 40 million in its third
phase. Twelve tentative flights have already taken place from the airport. The
first official overseas flight from the airport is slated for February 19. The
airport is located 30 kilometers south of Tehran.
There were a suspicious number of Turk guests attending the opening ceremony,
with the Turkish Minister of Economy and Trade at their head. This gave weight
to the suspicion that the Turks were there to sign the contract for completing
phases 2 and 3 of the airport, even though these suspicions were never
confirmed.
During the opening ceremony Ahmad Khorram, Minister of Roads and
Transportation, addressed those present to say, “The credits of the
transportation sector has been tripled over the past two years to reach $1.3
billion. If this is added to the domestic income of the transportation sector,
this figure would reach $2.8 billion.”
Turning to the country’s aging air fleet, he said that contracts have been
signed for the purchase of 36 airplanes, 18 of which will be passenger planes.
A credit line has already been established by the Central Bank of Iran for
this purpose and eight planes have already been delivered to the country’s
fleet, with the remaining ten slated to be handed over by the end of this
year. In addition, there are ongoing negotiations for the purchase of 20 more
passenger aircraft, and we aim to add 60 planes to the country’s fleet by the
end of the Fourth Development Plan.
After the Minister’s address, the control tower addressed President Khatami,
saying that Iran Air requests your permission for landing. Sitting in between
the Ministers of Road and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and
Communications and Information Technology, the President told the pilot, “I
wish you a safe and sound landing”. Seconds later the first plane rolled over
the tarmac of the Imam Khomeini International Airport.
This airport is believed to strengthen Iran’s position as the crosshair
between the North and South and well as East and West, which connects Asia to
Europe. Even though Iran has enjoyed remarkable advantages due to its unique
geographical situation, it has failed to make the most of its opportunities,
and President Khatami was not one to deny this. He hoped that efforts in this
regard would continue to promote Iran to its rightful position in
international transport and transit. |
