Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – May 29, 1995

We had rain last night and today. We had snowfall in some parts of the country, which is strange in this season. We went to the airport [Mehrabad]. We were delayed a bit, until [Mr. Seyed Hossein Marashi] the head of the office [of the President] arrived; There should be no delay. We flew to Semnan. The ministers of mines and metals and industries were accompanied. We landed at the old military airport, forty kilometers east of Semnan. Military ceremonies were welcomed. In order to open the Golugah to Nayin road, we flew by helicopter to Sarkovir village and landed next to the villages of Moalleman and Bidistan.

Mr. [Karim Farajzadeh] Helvai, Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport reported. About four hundred kilometers of asphalt desert roads have been built with the aim of bringing the roads of the central and southern provinces closer to the north and the closer connection of the ports of the Caspian Sea with the Persian Gulf, which is about five hundred kilometers closer and the burden of traffic is removed from the central roads of the country. with the cost of 800 million tomans, most of which I have contributed and the office of deprived areas. The people of the villages had a warm welcome. I spoke to them briefly and promised more construction assistance.

The head of the village council, who was a teacher, said that they had dug a well that was artesian and could not be used due to the differences between the three villages. They demanded the establishment of a boarding school for the education of girls from different villages. Then we opened the small solar power plant; With a cost of about one hundred million tomans and with a power of 270 kilowatts of electricity, which is interesting. I told them to develop it so that they can use it for water pumps and coolers.

To open the Ferosilis factory, we flew to Semnan industrial town. This factory is from the private sector, with 38 million dollars, foreign exchange cost and 5.5 billion tomans, riyal cost and seven hundred and fifty shareholders. Its CEO is Mr. [Aliasghar] Haji Baba, who was in prison together before the revolution, in connection with the case of the [Mohammed] Bukharai group. It gives 30 thousand tons of expensive products and its production is to be tripled with only ten million marks in foreign currency.

We returned to Tehran. In the evening, [Mr. Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan], Minister of Industry and Trade of Oman and [Mr. Mohammad Benkhalifa Althani], Minister of Economic and Commercial Affairs of Qatar came. The Qatari minister is the son of the Emir. I warned them to oppose the deployment of America's fifth fleet in the Persian Gulf. At night, I went to Mehdi's house and said the Azan and Iqamah in the baby's ear [= Fouad]. I greeted and came home.