Majlis approves support for Tehran subway

The Iranian parliament (Majlis) has approved a bill which will require the government to allocate $1 billion from the country's foreign exchange reserves for the completion of Tehran's subway system.

The bill was passed by a sweeping 163-24 votes on Tuesday.

Divisions between the government and Tehran's City Council increased when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in a TV interview last month that the government plans to take over the management of the subway system from the City Council.

Tehran's Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf said in July that the City Council has not received since 2005 the annual $4 billion the government had to pay for the expansion of Tehran's public transportation system, including the subway system.

The new approved bill means the government must allocate $1 billion by the end of the year from the foreign exchange reserves for the modernization and completion of Tehran's subway system while another $1 billion should be spent on transportation projects in other major cities.

The head of Tehran's Railway Company Mohsen Hashemi said in July that the completion of the city's subway system was four years behind schedule due to the government's lack of financial support.

An estimated 1.5 million people in Tehran use the subway for their daily commute. The completion of the subway has been one of Qalibaf's key plans to reduce the Iranian capital's traffic jams.