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The agreement with the Iranian Ministry of Roads & Urban Development and the Iran Airports Company was signed by during the state visit to France of Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani.
Mashhad is the country’s second-largest airport and Isfahan is the fifth-largest. The agreement is the first step in a process that should result in work to renovate, extend and operate the two airports.
The airport in Mashhad, which recorded 8.2 million passengers in 2014, is located in the northeast of the country and serves the country’s second-largest city, a holy city that attracts more than 20 million pilgrims every year. The Isfahan airport, with 2.6 million passengers in 2014, serves Iran’s third-largest city, which was the capital of the Persian empire in the 16th and 17th centuries and is known for its cultural and historic heritage.
The deal follows the recent effective lifting of international sanctions. Vinci sees airport activity as holding major economic potential in Iran, given its large population and territory as well as increases in tourism, which grew more than 35% in 2014.
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