Chinese investors are in talks to back a range of infrastructure developments in the Iranian province of Qom, reports say.
Possible projects include a monorail and the expansion of Qom International Airport.
Chinese-Iranian cooperation has widened in recent months as relations between Iran and the West have improved as a result of the crises in Iraq and Syria.
Iran’s Fars News Agency (FNA) reported that the investment arm of China’s Gansu province visited Qom International Airport on Wednesday, and that its chief executive said negotiations which have taken place between the two sides would "soon bear result".
FNA said that Chinese investors were "deeply fascinated" by the projects during their visit to the Qom International Airport.
Currently, construction is underway on 3,000 hectares of the total 10,000 hectares of the airport. "We are ready to cooperate with the Chinese investors in Qom International Airport,"
said the airport’s managing director, Mohammad Ali Shafiyee, according to FNA.
Gansu officials were interested in the second phase of a monorail, as well as the telecommunication networks, airport and highway construction projects, FNA said. A memorandum of understanding was expected.
Trade between Gansu and Qom provinces now exceeded $100m, Chinese officials said.
Iran is currently China’s third largest supplier of crude oil, according to FNA.
