No Urban Development Project Possible With Iran's Next Year Budget

Iran's transport and urban development minister says no construction project will be possible due to the low budget earmarked for the ministry for next year.

During a meeting with businesspeople and contractors active in road and infrastructure construction in the country, Rostam Ghassemi added that the allocated budget can hardly provide the salaries of employees.

“Today, living conditions are such that if a worker does not receive salary for one month, he will not be able to eat even an egg,” the minister said.

Attracting private sector investments for the transportation sector is one way to address the budget shortfall the minister said but added that parliamentary authorization would be needed.

The ministry’s total budget for the next year is already 66 percent more than that of the current year, at roughly $4.8 billion at today’s market exchange rate, but high inflation in the past three years have eroded the value of the national currency.

Earlier in the month, President Ebrahim Raeesi submitted the fiscal 2022-23 budget bill to the parliament, projected to stand at about $50 billion.

This year's large budget deficit is expected to persist into next year.