Criticism of the Plan to Move the Capital to Makran; A Large Part of It 'Lacks Running Water'

A former representative of Chabahar in the Islamic Consultative Assembly says that the mention of the Makran coasts as the 'new capital' of the country has only exacerbated the livelihood problems of the people in this region. Moein al-Din Saidi stated on Sunday, January 13, that after recent discussions about moving the capital to Makran, land prices and housing rents in the area have increased without any changes in the lives of the people. He emphasized that the recent statements by government officials have only raised the cost of living for the residents of the region. Recently, Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, announced that Tehran no longer has the 'capacity for development' and that the capital should be moved to a coastal area in the south. He did not directly refer to the Makran coasts in Sistan and Baluchestan province, but Mohammad Reza Aref, his first deputy, had previously said: 'One of the areas seriously considered for moving the capital is Makran.' Meanwhile, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the government spokesperson, mentioned on January 11 that the proposed location is Makran; however, a day later, she denied these statements. The idea of relocating the capital has been raised for four decades, but no practical steps have ever been taken regarding this issue or even the selection of a specific area. The mention of the Makran coasts as an option for the new capital comes at a time when this region is one of the most underdeveloped areas of Iran in terms of infrastructure, with a large part of the mentioned area lacking running water. Mr. Saidi also pointed out that 'currently, what infrastructure is there in Makran? We have the lowest development indicators here; in terms of access to drinking water, we have low educational and sports per capita, and the health situation here has become catastrophic.' He further reminded that in such conditions, the result of raising such topics 'without the necessary expertise' is that 'the cost of living for the people increases.' This former parliament member stated that in Tehran, each citizen consumes about 150 liters of water daily, while in Makran, the share per citizen is about 15 liters, and a large percentage of the people still do not have running water. Meanwhile, ILNA news agency reported that 700 villages in six counties in southern Sistan and Baluchestan lack access to piped drinking water, stating that even in Chabahar, water is rationed. Ms. Mohajerani, a day ago, denied her statements regarding the plan to move the capital to Makran, saying that two councils have been formed to identify the problems of Tehran and examine the strengths of the sea-oriented economy in Makran, but this does not mean moving the capital to Makran. Her reference to the 'sea-oriented economy' of Makran comes at a time when its only port, Chabahar, is also only partially operational, and its share of the country's foreign goods transit does not even reach one percent. For example, Iran transited 25 million tons of foreign goods last year, of which Chabahar's share was only 17,000 tons. In this context, World Bank statistics show that Iran has the worst logistics index among its neighbors after Afghanistan, and it is not clear on what basis the Islamic Republic officials have pinned their hopes on the sea-oriented economy.