Ilam governor says water, power infrastructure needed to attract investors at border crossings

ILAM, Iran — The governor of Ilam province in western Iran said completing water and electricity infrastructure is essential to enable large-scale investment around the province's two border crossings. Governor Ahmad Karimi told a meeting that providing sustainable utility networks near the border gates in the province's southern districts is a prerequisite for investors to begin major operations, according to Iran's official Fars news agency. Karimi said the provincial administration should play a facilitating role for investors and that poor coordination in land preparation should not block their entry. He also outlined plans to expand agriculture, particularly date varieties, and to establish processing and complementary industries to complete the value chain for agricultural products. The governor pointed to tourism potential along Ilam's forty pilgrimage routes and natural areas, calling for investment packages to be prepared for sites including the Simereh Dam Lake and Kafirin Gorge. He added that project permits should be issued far faster than under normal procedures and that bureaucratic obstacles should not delay foreign-currency-generating projects. Officials at the meeting said coordination sessions would continue to finalize the investment packages, with no further details immediately available.