The unveiling ceremony was attended by Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Ahmad Akhundi, Austrian Ambassador to Tehran Friedrich Stift as well as Mohsen Pourseyyed Aghaei, the President of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI).
The first phase of the project was put into operation with the capacity of providing 40,000 Iranian and foreign catering services a day.
The newly-opened catering will be capable of supplying the needs of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and all its subsidiaries for the next ten years.
On the inauguration ceremony, Iran’s Akhundi said that the project is a joint investment between Iran and Austria.
The incumbent government has pursued the aim of improving the country’s railroad transport in terms of infrastructure, safety, speed and competitive prices, underlined the official adding “one major issue in railroad transit is to provide passengers with food services and the objective has been accomplished now with the opening of Dona International Catering Company as a joint venture between Iran and Austria.”
“The partnership marks the beginning of several investments in various sectors of the transport industry,” underlined the road minister emphasizing the need for creation of trust and social capital in order to attract international investors for long-term periods.
He expressed hope that the new atmosphere emerged in the post-JCPOA era and Iran’s return to international political and economic arenas will further boost the country’s share in the global economy.
Also at the ceremony, Managing Director of Dona International Catering Company Amir Asgari said the project was launched in 2012 in collaboration with an Austrian firm in order to address the need for proper catering in rail transport system.
With 12 million dollars of investment, the company was constructed in an area of 5,000 square meters in accordance with the world’s latest standards.
Having received four European standards, the new catering house currently supports 70 per cent of the country’s railroad fleet.
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