ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— An extended railway construction is underway to connect Iran to the Syrian west coast on the Mediterranean Sea, crossing the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq, according to Iranian President Hasan Rouhani who visited Kurdish provincial capital of Sanandaj in Iran Saturday as part of his reelection campaign.
Rouhani described the construction of Tehran-Sanandaj railway as one of “the most important infrastructure projects” in the country and added that it would create many job opportunities.
“By extending the railway from Sanandaj to the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, we will connect Iran to the Mediterranean Sea through Syria,” the president said after arriving in Sanandaj.
Rouhani arrived in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province on Saturday morning to inaugurate a number of industrial projects. The President was leading a delegation including some members of his cabinet to the province.
The presidential frontrunner visited Sanandaj less than two months before the general elections in May when he will face his conservative opponents who seek to defeat him.
The president started 21 new projects in the highly impoverished province worth an estimated 2,750 billion Iranian tomans which is thought to create some 6000 new jobs for the local workforce.
The construction of the petrochemical factory and two dam projects were also officially started in the province.
Critics have slammed Rouhani for what they see as sidelining of Kurdistan province in the government’s fiscal planning. Activists have said Rouhani has failed to complete his last campaign vows and see his first term in office as unproductive for Kurdish regions.
Saturday’s day-long visit was Rouhani’s second trip to the area since he was elected president in 2013.
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