The Iranian transportation ministry says a major highway project that connects tow metropolitan cities of Isfahan and Shiraz will come on line as early as October.
Deputy transportation minister Kheirollah Khademi said on Saturday that the 212-kilometer highway between Isfahan, in central Iran, to Shiraz, in the country’s south, will be the longest highway ever opened in the country as part of single project.
Khademi said the project has cost 250 trillion rials ($500 million) of which nearly a half has been supplied by private investors.
He said the new highway will cut journey times between Isfahan and Shiraz, respectively the third and fifth largest cities in Iran, by 134 kilometers or nearly two hours, adding that the new road will cut the country’s fuel bill by 100 million liters per year.
The official said the highway features the tallest road bridge in Iran with a height of 110 meters which is 264 meters long. Earlier reports had indicated that the bridge took two years to finish.
The entire Isfahan-Shiraz highway project is 224 kilometers long. The road which is going to be opened in October covers six out of the eight sections of the highway.
Iran has sought to expand its transportation network in recent years both to ease traffic on the roads and to help boost cargo transit from other countries.
Government figures show the length of highways launched in Iran since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 had reached 2,700 kilometers.
