France to Grant €70m for Development of Iranian Airports
France to Grant €70m for Development of Iranian Airports

TEHRAN – The French Ministry for the Economy and Finance is planning to grant a €70 million loan to Iran for the renovation of the country’s airport equipment and radars, said Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, secretary of state to the minister for Europe and foreign affairs in a meeting with Abbas Akhoundi, the Iranian Minister of Roads […]

TEHRAN – The French Ministry for the Economy and Finance is planning to grant a €70 million loan to Iran for the renovation of the country’s airport equipment and radars, said Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, secretary of state to the minister for Europe and foreign affairs in a meeting with Abbas Akhoundi, the Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development in Tehran.

The visiting official also said that to compensate the absence of European and French banks in Iran, the French government is defining mechanisms by which it could offer inter-governmental loans to Iran, Mehr News Agency reported.

Moreover, Lemoyne announced that Minister of Transport Élisabeth Borne is scheduled to pay a visit to Iran in October.

French construction firm Vinci signed a preliminary agreement with the Iranian government to develop airports in the two Iranian cities and tourist hubs of Mashhad and Isfahan after representatives of the European company participated in a business forum at Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture’s headquarters on January 31. Unofficial reports put the value of the deal at $404 million. Negotiations for that matter have been ongoing since President Hassan Rouhani traveled to Paris a few days after the implementation of the nuclear deal.

Referring to the United States House of Representatives’ Wednesday adoption of measures to prevent sales of commercial aircraft to Iran, Akhoundi described the move as a “stunt” and said despite the measure two ATR aircraft will be delivered to Iran within the next 10 days.

“We have grown used to the US not making good on its promises… All companies remain committed to the deals and are bound to implement them.” CEO of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh was quoted as saying after the US measure was adopted.

Echoing similar remarks, the Secretary-General of the Association of Iranian Airlines told IRNA that Iran’s deals to purchase jetliners signed after the removal of nuclear sanctions will remain valid despite the Wednesday measure.