The activities of the Sarkhes Special Economic Zone began on 24 May 1375, at the same time as the opening of the Mashhad-Sarkhes-Tajn railway, with the presence of leaders and representatives of more than 100 countries, and according to the announcement of Astan Quds Razavi’s readiness to invest in this area, “Zone Institute” “Razavi Economic Special” was formed and its management was entrusted to Astan Quds. Currently, this institution operates under the Astan Quds Razavi Endowment Productivity Foundation and is responsible for planning and taking action for the development plans of this region.
In a conversation with Mohammad Reza Kalaei, the CEO of Sarkhes Special Economic Zone, we asked about the measures taken to strengthen this zone and realize the goals and policies, and we also inquired about the plans for the new year.
First, refer to the history of the formation of Sarkhes Special Economic Zone.
Sarkhs Special Economic Zone was established in the 70s with the cooperation and investment of Astan Quds Razavi and the government, with the aim of bringing about economic prosperity and removing the deprivation of Sarkhs, which is one of the endowment cities, on the one hand, and on the other hand, by creating a transit corridor to East Asian countries should provide a new economic opportunity for the country.
To what extent have these goals been achieved?
According to the policies that were designed from the beginning, Astan Quds Razavi It has fulfilled almost all of its obligations and, for example, it has been successful in creating infrastructure such as border connections and attracting foreign capital, as a result, generally, the lack of coordination between the governments and assemblies of the time has not allowed this special economic zone, as a region to be recognized as free and its potentials to flourish.
What has been the follow-up of Astan Quds Razavi to remove the obstacles of this issue?
According to the emphasis of the honorable administration of Astan Quds Razavi, the follow-ups of the honorable deputy and other officials, what has been taken into consideration since 1400 is, firstly, the removal of the obstacles to the transformation of the Sarkhes special zone into a free zone, and secondly, the realization of prosperity in accordance with the designed infrastructures. . In this regard, the follow-ups led to the approval of the Board of Ministers to separate the bill for the establishment of Sarkhes-Dogharun and Amirabad Free Trade Zones in the government board, and this bill was practically separated for Sarkhes Free Zone, Dogharon Free Zone and Amirabad Free Zone, and this The action provided the ground for the approval of the Islamic Council to create a commercial and industrial freedom zone.
According to this policy of Astan Quds, what are the most important actions that were taken in Sarkhes Special Economic Zone last year?
The first and most important action that took place in Sarkhes Special Economic Zone in 1400 is the approval of the Board of Ministers to amend the bill and provide the necessary grounds for receiving the approval of the parliament, which I mentioned. The second thing related to the field of investment was the attention and focus on the existing infrastructures and their maximum use. In this regard, Sarkhes Airport has been designed as an international airport, and with a runway length of four kilometers, it is ready for large flights. With this happening, now the special area of Sarkhs has a dock between different modes of transportation, including rail mode, road mode, and air mode, which is very important.
Aiming to turn Sarkhs into a transit hub
This airport was closed for 11 years, and it is now recognized as an active airport after signing contracts and obtaining necessary permits. Also, the investment made on the devices and equipment, in addition to developing a regular passenger flight schedule, the necessary groundwork for turning this region into a combined rail and air transit hub from East Asia to different parts of the world, especially Africa, will be realized.
Operating the border transit road with an investment of 150 billion tomans
The third event in 1400 was the connection of Sarkhes Special Economic Zone to the border. In the initial design, a transit road should have been built to connect the Fernk Special Economic Zone to the border of Turkmenistan. Although this matter should have been pursued two decades ago and implemented with the cooperation of the then government, fortunately we were able to build this road at a cost of 150 billion tomans in the year 1400 with the social support and empathy of the people and officials of Sarkhes city with Astan Quds Razavi. put into operation In terms of road transportation, this road is very important for the special zone and can facilitate the transformation of the special zone into a free zone. Therefore, we followed the corridor connecting to the border, and for the construction of the transit road, two large bridges with wide spans were created, and during the coordination with the railway company, the railway lines were coordinated, which is a very important achievement and we can call it the third Consider the big event of 1400.
Attracting 15 investors
The fourth important achievement last year was the attraction of about 15 investors for the special zone, who are generally working in the field of logistics, transportation wpml_nbsp and trade. A contract has been concluded with these investors and this event will provide a good basis for investment in the special economic zone of Sarkhes in the coming years.
The fifth most important action last year was the implementation of a cooperative agriculture plan with private sector investment and land provision by Astan Quds. In this collaborative method, the emphasis has been on using new and knowledge-based methods in the field of agriculture, while the use of local manpower has also been one of the requirements. Now, with the implementation of this project, 100 hectares of advanced tropical walnut garden has been created and it will reach more than a thousand hectares in three years. We will also try to turn fern into a modern agricultural model in the country.
Due to the huge investment of Astan Quds Razavi in Sarkhes
All in all, I believe that the most important thing that happened in 1400 was that the huge investment of Astan Quds Razavi in the 70s, which was made in accordance with an international perspective in Sarkhes, came to an acceptable level. This event was delayed for many years due to various reasons, but now we are facing a much more positive outlook than the one in 1975, because first of all, the government’s approach to economic cooperation with its neighbors, especially with the focus on the East, is different from the past and the desire to Its realization exists, secondly, the opportunity to connect the China-Central Asia-Iran-Turkey rail corridor to Europe is a very suitable opportunity that we can use. The third reason is that the development of economic interactions with China and their focus on investment in the south of Iran can make the Fern Special Economic Zone As a transportation corridor from China to the south of Iran, and in addition, to be a transit route for China to reach the Persian Gulf countries and other countries in the south of the Indian Ocean.
Maintaining endowment rights, serving the country’s economic growth
Our duty as managers of Sarkhs Special Economic Zone is to fully realize the endowment rights based on the investments made in the path of empathy and cooperation with the government, and secondly, to provide the necessary services for the economic growth of the country. Expand transit and improve transportation conditions, which will be achieved with the policies designed for 1401.
5 main priorities for 1401
According to the announced policies, in 1401, five main priorities have been determined for the special economic zone of Sarkhes, based on the guidelines of the honorable administration of Astan Quds Razavi and his honorable deputy. The first priority is to transform this area into a commercial and industrial free zone and establish it through a proper understanding with the government. The second issue which is considered as a macro policy is to create prosperity in the special region as well as expanding employment-oriented activities and fulfilling social responsibilities in Sarkhes city, which requires private sector investment, which according to our cooperation with investors and big investors in Khorasan Razavi province, God willing, will be realized. The third priority is to increase the volume of transit from the region. Due to the visit of the honorable president to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and mutual visits, our relations with neighboring countries are improving. We should use this opportunity and increase the volume of our rail transit transportation in 1401, because this has happened and at the end of 1400 we see that 81% of the country’s rail transit transportation is carried out from the Sarkhes border, and therefore any effort we make to develop this capacity will be met with a positive response from the market.
Signing of seven investment contracts in Tajikistan exhibition
The next thing is to visit the regional markets. It is important that we participate in various investment exhibitions, markets and meetings and be able to introduce the capacities of Sarkhes Special Economic Zone and attract more investments and cooperation, which has been done with the cooperation of various planning groups. In this regard, the first step in the implementation of this program was taken in March 1400, and Sarkhes Special Economic Zone had a successful presence at the Islamic Republic of Tajikistan exhibition, which led to the signing of seven investment contracts, and I think these contracts will bring good economic prosperity to the region. .
Trying to increase the speed of rail loading and unloading
Another important policy in 1401 is the activation of mixed modes, especially by investing in the STB site (specific unloading operations and rail loadings) in the region. In this site, wide and normal rails are placed together, and God willing, we can increase the loading and unloading speed.
The fifth policy is investment in container transportation. In this context, we must change the principles of investment and the principles of logistics so that we can take a higher share of the market in the coming years. The solution is container transportation, which we can help with the help of the private sector and our own investment. One part of it is the consolidation of customs in the special area, which is about 90% done. God willing, we will witness this happening in early 1401 and the biggest obstacle in terms of logistics and transportation, which is the integration of customs, will be removed.
What are the requirements for these programs to be realized?
There are two main problems and needs in Sarkhs Special Economic Zone, which if We want a high share of logistics To have region and extra region We must pay attention to it; The first need is the electronicization of processes and the intelligentization of many services at the level of the international transport class, which fortunately has started its implementation process, but it is still very It is behind the existing infrastructure in the region and this is our priority in 1401. The second need is to increase the ability of our colleagues and business partners to be present in international markets, and in this field, Razavi Business Company is our contracting party, and I hope we can improve the processes by using the necessary training courses.
What effect will these programs and investments ultimately have on improving the state of Sarkhes?
One of the most important measures as a strategic measure of the Special Economic Zone is to create investment platforms for parallel activities in the entire city of Sarkhes, because we need security to create a commercial hub, and this security happens with investment in the entire city of Sarkhes, and those main activities are generally It happened with Astan Quds collections. Creating pistachio and walnut orchards with the participation of the private sector by the Razavi Agricultural Company, activating tourist and recreational camps, as well as the proper exploitation of Astan Quds properties with the approach of job creation and foreign exchange, can help the special region to fulfill its social responsibilities and stabilize the region, and this God willing, the program will be followed vigorously in 1401.
