Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – June 2, 1997

At seven in the morning we flew toward Yazd. Yaser and [Messrs. Mohsen] Nourbakhsh, [Governor of the Central Bank], [Hossein] Mahlouji, [Minister of Mines and Metals], [Akbar] Torkan, [Minister of Roads and Transportation], and [Isa] Kalantari, [Minister of Agriculture], were with us. After the official welcome, we set off by car toward Meybod. The helicopters had not arrived. The Yazd–Ardakan road has become a highway and part of the surroundings has become green.

On the way, Messrs. [Mohammad-Ali] Sadoughi and [Gholam-Ali] Sefid, the Friday Prayer Imam and the Governor-General, spoke about the election issues. They were happy about Mr. Khatami's victory and criticized the destructive propaganda of Mr. Nateq's faction, and especially the harsh words and insults of Mr. [Abol-Qasem] Khazali, and they are grateful for my speech on the Friday before the elections, which moderated the atmosphere and removed the pressure.

At the South Meybod railway station, the ceremony for the start of operation of the new 280-kilometer Meybod–Bad railway line took place, with the explanations of the officials and the report of Mr. [Akbar] Torkan, [Minister of Roads and Transportation]. 250 billion rials have been spent and it has shortened the road by 100 kilometers. They said that for the year 1400 [2021] a program has been drawn up to reach 23 thousand kilometers of railway. They presented two exquisite works as a token of gratitude for my services, and I spoke about the importance of the railway in transportation and its important economic effects. Then we boarded the ceremonial train and went to the Ardakan station. There was hospitality on the way.

At the Ardakan station, we flew toward the [Chadormalu] mine. The entire route is dry desert and sand dunes. We saw only a few single trees beside a mountain that apparently has a small spring, and the Governor-General did not know it either. We landed at the site of the Chadormalu iron ore mine. The people of Bahabad, which is 70 kilometers from the mine, had a huge gathering. They were very enthusiastic. I spoke to them and promised to fulfill their requests, including a dam and a road. They expected me to go there, but there was no opportunity; they are our neighbors from the Nuq plain.

I unveiled the interesting and innovative plaque. We visited the mine. They explained that the mine's depth is about 300 meters with a reserve of 400 million tons of iron ore. Then we visited the crusher and the conveyor and the homogenizing warehouse and the three production lines and the warehouses and the loading facilities. Among the staff, we heard the report of Mr. [Hossein] Mahlouji, [Minister of Mines and Metals], and Mr. [Mohammad-Hossein] Habibian, [Managing Director of the Chadormalu Iron Ore Complex]. It was built with 580 million dollars, which at today's exchange rate amounts to a total of 200 billion tomans, and it returns the foreign-currency and rial investment within four years. The phosphorus removal section has added to the cost, but iron with phosphorus is also very effective in the production of chemical fertilizer, and its expansion plan has begun, which will bring production to 8.5 million tons. I gave a medal to Engineer Habibian and a coin to Engineer [Ali-Akbar] Sobhani, who discovered the mine 57 years ago, and a certificate of appreciation to several managers, and I spoke about the importance of this mine and praised the timely decision to activate it after fifty years of hesitation.

Several ministers of Nigeria came to meet and brought a check for two million dollars in aid to the earthquake victims of Khorasan Province. They are impressed by the progress of Iran's industries and requested cooperation for extracting the mine they have with a capacity of ten billion tons of iron ore; I agreed. After prayers, lunch, and a rest, we flew toward Yazd. The railway and the electricity transmission line have not yet been completed. We landed at the site of the Parto Nuclear Energy Processing factory. It is an interesting industry; a complex electron accelerator machine is used to irradiate wood and rubber and metals to strengthen them. They said we are the third country to use this technology; Germany and Belgium are the fourth and fifth.

From there we went to the transportation terminal. An interesting center with 30 hectares of land and 30 thousand square meters of building and interesting green space, built for the truck station and the country's cargo and cargo information center and the repair shops and stores related to transportation and cultural centers, at a cost of two billion tomans from the source of collecting the fuel price difference at the country's entry points from foreign cars. We have 30 terminals under construction. At the ceremony, Messrs. [Akbar] Torkan, [Minister of Roads and Transportation], and [Mohammad] Saeedi-Nejad, [Head of the Terminals Organization], and [Karim Farajzadeh] Halvaei, [Technical Deputy of the Ministry of Roads and Transportation], gave reports. I too spoke and spoke about the importance of this necessary measure and the role it plays in regulating cargo transport and preventing the transport capacity from remaining empty.

Then we went to the agricultural research center. We visited the pomegranate genetic research fields. They have collected 700 types of pomegranate, and at the ceremony, Dr. [Isa] Kalantari, [Minister of Agriculture]

and [Mohammad-Ali] Sadoughi, [Friday Prayer Imam of Yazd], and [Gholam-Ali Sefid], the Governor-General, spoke and praised my services and gave gifts of thanks. We inaugurated 30 pressurized irrigation projects. I too spoke about the importance of water conservation and correct use. After the sunset and evening prayers, we flew toward Tehran. We reached home at ten at night; it was a good trip.