Public housing developments in Qazvin and Damavand, recently constructed

Expansive public housing development at Qazvin in northern Iran, partially completed

Sample of completed units at mass public housing project in Qazvin

Some of the more fortunate youths from low income families provided with subsidized public housing before current administration's cancellation of future public housing developments. 

"Jube dog" residents of Qazvin

Recently completed public housing units at Damavand in Tehran province

 

Newly completed infrastructure details at Damavand's public housing project

Photos: Hamzeh Mohammad Hosseini and Erfan Dadkhah at FARS News Agency

Rouhani cancels public housing construction program

 

Above: Modern residential blocks of low income public housing built in Borujerd, Iran

(Photo: Wikipedia Commons) 

 According to Tehran Times:

The transport and urban development minister announced [last] Wednesday that the Mehr housing plan will not continue in the new administration of Hassan Rouhani.

Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi said his ministry will “only complete” the unfinished Mehr housing projects.

The completion of 1.5 million houses in 17 new cities is a legacy of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration for the new administration. The plan started in 2007.

The plan is a home construction promotion program in which the government offers developers free land in return for the construction of cheap residential units for first-time house buyers on 99-year leases. Under the scheme, the government commissions banks as agents to offer loans to the real estate developers.

The minister said the project has created problems for the government and the applicants and is not a “good plan” to be continued.

[...]

In late August Ali Tayebnia, the minister of economy and finance, blamed the Mehr housing plan for over-expanding money supply. He also blamed the Mehr housing policies for runaway inflation and serious budget problems.

Officials in the new administration had initially said that the Mehr houses serve as dormitories and it was better that these houses were being built in cities.

Not long ago Iran's media began running pictorials on public housing new construction deficiencies, so this announcement was expected.

With reduced government revenue as a result of U.S.-led economic sanctions against Iran, the public housing program couldn't be sustained.

Iran's media has been depicting this development as being in the interest of low income applicants but one has to imagine there are families in line for public housing that are disappointed with the cancelation of the program.

New Pics: Public housing project at Parand, under construction

The new town of Parand is situated 10 km west from Robat Karim (situated 35 km southwest from Tehran) on the way to Saveh and it has about 7000 students in Islamic azad university. [Source: Wikipedia]

The town is intended to provide residence for the staffs of Imam Khomeini International Airport, create a balance in the settlement pattern of Tehran, establish an appropriate environment to draw in the extra population of Tehran and offer an alternative to unsystematic settlements. Parand is expected to accommodate 80,000 citizens across 1,467 hectares, aiming to host low-income families (laborers’ and employees’ housing cooperatives). [Source: Wikipedia]

Curious the apparent scarcity of construction cranes evident among the partially completed residential towers, suggestive of a slowdown or pause.

Yet to be seen if Ahmadinejad's mass public housing policies will be continued during the Rouhani administration

 

Interior detail from one of the completed residential towers at Parand

Photos: Abdolvahed Mirzazadeh at ISNA, Hadi Hirbodvash at FARS News Agency

Millions of public housing units provided during Ahmadinejad administration

 

Above: some of the 12.000 public housing units recently constructed at this one residential project in Zanjan 

According to Tehran Times:

The administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has handed the keys to over 1.18 million low-cost [units] to applicants under the Mehr Housing Project, the transport and urban development minister announced on Friday.

Of the 2.18 million Mehr [units] under construction, over 1.18 million have been completed and given to applicants, Ali Nikzad said.

He said the other one million residential units will be completed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014).

He also said during the past eight years, 2.12 million rural houses have been renovated to withstand earthquakes.

The administration has been implementing the Mehr Housing Project in different parts of the country to build millions of residential units and stabilize housing prices.

Under this plan, real estate developers are offered free parcels of land in return for building cheap residential units for first-time buyers, who receive 99-year mortgages for the purchase of the land.

It is an Ahmadinejad policy such as this which provides implied justification for the results of methodologically sound public opinion polls where consistently large majorities inside Iran provide varying levels of positive response when queried over their form of governance. Even Khamenei, who in the Western press has been depicted as being severely anti-Ahmadinejad, stated at a recent speech:

The incumbent administration enjoys many strengths although it may suffer from certain weaknesses. Which one of us does not suffer from weaknesses in our work? It is necessary to see the strengths as well. Important things have been done in the country. The services that have been rendered, the infrastructure-related work has been done, the development projects that have been carried out - these things must not be ignored.

Relevant to this observation is the latest blog post from Professor Proofessor Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, titled "Evaluate policies, then politicians." Well worth the read.

Photo: Islamic Republic News Agency

Public housing construction at Damavand and Golbahar

Public housing project at Damavand, Tehran Province

Construction appears to employ steel frame with concrete masonry

Opening ceremony for completed public housing units

New infrastructure evident accompanying new housing units

Public housing project at Golbahar, Razai Khorasan Province

Similarly constructed four-level public housing units, these near Mashad

Units attractively finished with landscaped gardens situated beside brick walkways

Public housing unit of the same project, awaiting landscaping details

Public housing development has been a prominent feature of the Ahmadinejad administration. Yet to be seen if this will change under the newly elected administration of President-elect Rouhani.

Photos: Nima Najafzadeh and Azin Haghighi at Fars News Agency

Qazvin public housing development, recently constructed

Massive public housing developments recently constructed, Qazvin province

Another view of the sprawling public housing development

Public housing square ornamented with lawns

Related recently constructed highway cloverleaf interchange

Socio-economic class beneficiaries in evidence at the Qazvin public housing development

Interior window view, with political banner adorning adjacent residential building

 

Banner reminder of the political benefactor ultimately responsible for the residents' public housing

Photos: Efran Dadkhah at Mehr News Agency and Islamic Republic News Agency

Newly constructed public housing project in Rasht

New pics of recently constructed public housing in the city of Rasht (dated April 2013)

Khamenei banner in front of new housing units

Khomeini banner in front of another block of multi-level housing units

And an Ahmadinejad banner in front of yet another block of multi-level public housing units

Housing units appear neat and smartly designed

 

A young public housing recipient. Persons in the West have a difficult time accepting public opinion polls (the ones published with scientifically derived methodologies) consistently reflecting majority support for Islamic Republic governance in Iran. However one important factor is overlooked in these people's assessment, and that is the support base consisting of the majority drawn from the lower two-thirds of the economic spectrum. It is this segment of society that the government focuses most of its attention, seen readily in these pics of completed public housing projects. Whereas the Arab Spring demonstrators have been drawn largely from their country's corresponding lower two-thirds, Iran's revolution of over 30 years ago remains committed to this same corresponding majority segment of society.

Photos: Islamic Republic News Agency

New Pics: Recently constructed public housing projects, Tabriz

Public housing projects in various stages of construction


Vista view of public housing projects in Tabriz, under construction

Public housing projects nearing completion

Above: completed housing blocks painted in varying colors.

Interior detail of near completed unit

Below: vista views of completed projects. Note children's playground in lower image.

Photos: Islamic Republic News Agency

Mehr housing project in Pardis, under construction

This Mehr housing project currently under construction is within a planned community in Pardis,  situated east of the city of Tehran in the county and province of Tehran.

Multiple towers being erected at the construction site utilizing a number of tower cranes

Residential tower built from concrete using a tower crane

Earlier state of development: no less than five tower cranes visible

Iranian-made HEPCO HR105B1 road roller and three tracked excavators

Wall map showing the large scale of this Mehr public housing development

Source: IRNA