The participation of China in mass housing production in Iran has been confirmed by a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Road and Urban Development, ISNA reported.
It is however said that China will not directly cooperate in constructing the houses and will rather provide the necessary technology.
Firstly it was an Iranian lawmaker that claimed China is going to play a part in the mass housing projects of Iran, but the news was soon rejected.
When Eqbal Shakeri talked about China’s likely participation in Iranian housing projects, Mohammad Reza Rezaei Kouchi, another Iranian member of parliament strongly complained about the issue referring to the existence of 500 civil engineers in the country.
After different speculations, Deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Mahmoud Mahmoudzadeh confirmed the issue on Friday night.
The official however noted that China will not build housing units in Iran but will provide the Iranian government with the necessary technology for implementing its plan for building one million houses a year over the next four years.
He expressed hope that with the participation of China in Iranian mass housing production, the country will be able to manage the pace, quality and final price of the projects.
Mahmoudzadeh promised that the government campaign for building affordable houses will reduce real estate prices by 30%.
Construction of a housing unit takes one and a half to two years in traditional construction while with the expansion of mass construction, it is doable in only one year and the quality will be even much different, he said.
Some analysts believe that China's entry into Iran's construction industry will have many privileges such as the introduction of advanced technology and tools, the possibility of bartering Iranian oil, creating competition in the construction sector, and increasing the employment of Iranian workers.