Iran, IDB to increase investment cooperation

The Islamic Development Bank officials have decided to make a $650 million investment in four basic construction projects in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2012, the IDB's representative in Iran said. Representative of the IDB in Iran Ali Fallahi said the bank is going to make investments in Iran construction projects. He said the investments which amount to $3bln will be made in the next three years. Making the remark during a ceremony to sign an agreement between the bank and a provincial water company here in southern Iran on Saturday, Fallahi noted that based on previous plans, his bank is to make $650mln investments in four basic construction projects in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2012. Earlier in 2011, the IDB provided $123mln for water projects in Iran, Senegal and Yemen. The funding included $84.3mln for the Rural Areas Wastewater Project in the Northwest and Southeast regions of Iran. In 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lauded the Islamic Development Bank's support for the construction of Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan railway, and called on the bank to render more financial back-up to joint projects in Islamic states.