Deputy Minister of Roads Announces Official Entry of Chinese into Housing Construction in Iran

After much speculation regarding the entry of Chinese companies into the housing sector in Iran, the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development announced an official collaboration with Chinese firms to introduce new construction technologies. According to ILNA news agency, Saeed Ghafouri stated that the presence of Chinese in Iran's construction industry is in line with Ali Khamenei's directive to utilize a knowledge-based economy. Ghafouri explained that the aim is to bring new construction technology into the country through collaboration with Chinese companies. Some experts believe that the presence of Chinese in Iran's construction sector is due to restrictions on oil sales and the transfer of Iran's foreign currency revenues, as analysts note that Chinese have long been trading goods and services in exchange for oil received from Iran. In this context, a trade association official in the construction industry previously mentioned that housing construction by the Chinese relates to the issue of 'oil barter.' According to the head of the National Association of Builders, this arrangement will allow the Chinese to receive Iranian oil at a lower price. The website 'Khabar Online' reported last year, citing Iraj Rahbar, which somewhat clarified the reasons behind the Islamic Republic's green light for Chinese companies to enter the construction industry. On the other hand, the claim of technology transfer following the presence of Chinese in Iran comes at a time when on February 21 of last year, the Minister of Housing in Ebrahim Raisi's government stated that 'we need more financial resources than technology' in response to discussions about Tehran Municipality's cooperation with Chinese companies for housing construction in the capital and the transfer of Chinese prisoners to Iran as cheap labor. Alongside the government's efforts to involve the Chinese in the construction industry, Tehran Municipality has also put collaboration with the Chinese on its agenda. In this regard, Lotfollah Forouzandeh, deputy to Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, stated on February 14, 2023, regarding why construction in Tehran was entrusted to Chinese companies that 'we brought the Chinese to build houses in Tehran because we do not have the industrial construction technology ourselves.' Previously, Hamidreza Sarami, deputy of urban planning and architecture at Tehran Municipality, had mentioned in an interview with the newspaper 'Donya-e-Eqtesad' published on February 1, 2023, about the plan for 'neighborhood construction by private Chinese construction companies on a large scale of over 1,000 units' on 'brownfield' lands or reserve lands in Tehran's districts 9 to 16. The oil-housing barter between Iran and China has raised concerns about potential corruption, as Ali Ramazaniyan believes that such barters lead to significant corruption. Rent inflation has surpassed 43%, and there are expectations of a 500-year wait for purchasing housing at current wages in Iran. Applicants for 'national housing' have received warning text messages, with deletion and penalties awaiting them, and an 800 million toman housing loan with a profit of 2.1 billion tomans.