BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 11. The funds allocated for a section of the Maragheh-Hashtrood highway in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran amounted to 72 trillion rials (about $124 million), Trend reports citing the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development of Iran.
This announcement came during a ceremony on March 11 in the East Azerbaijan province, marking the completion and opening of a 29-kilometer section of the Maragheh-Hashtrood highway. The event was attended by Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Farzaneh Sadegh, along with other officials.
The total length of the Maragheh-Hashtrood highway is 110 kilometers, and the construction has been divided into five phases to accelerate progress. In the section now open, 13 major bridges and 40 smaller bridges have been built. The speed limit for this section of the highway is set at 110 km/h.
With this new section open, it is expected that around 15 million liters of gasoline will be saved annually. Additionally, travel time will be reduced by 24 minutes for passenger vehicles and 43 minutes for freight trucks.
To note, the entire Maragheh-Hashtrood highway is planned to be completed and operational by March 2026. Once fully opened, the highway will connect Maragheh city to the country's national highway network, linking with the Tamarchin border crossing with Iraq, thus playing a crucial role in freight transport and transit.
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