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The Arvand Freezone is a 155 square kilometer industrial and security zone that surrounds Khorramshahr

Khorramshahr

Khorramshahr is a city in and the capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 123,866, in 26,385 families.Khorramshahr is a port city located approximately north of Abadan...

, Abadan

Abadan

Abadan is a city in and the capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. It lies on Abadan Island , from the Persian Gulf, near the Iraqi-Iran border. The civilian population of the city dropped to near zero during the eight-years Iran–Iraq War. In 1992, only 84,774 had returned to live...

, and Minoo Island

Minoo Island

Minoo Island is an Iranian island in the Khuzestan province, in southwestern Iran and is close to the city of Abadan. The city of Minushahr is on the island....

 along the Arvand  waterway (known as Shatt al-Arab in Iraq) in Khuzestan Province

Khuzestan Province

Khuzestan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq's Basra Province and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahwaz and covers an area of 63,238 km²...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

.

The website of the Arvand Freezone Organisation lists some of its goals, including:

• Commercial and industrial development
• Job creation
• Increasing national income
• Stabilization of national security

According to an agreement made between Arvand Free Trade Zone and the Oil Ministry

Ministry of Petroleum of Iran

The Ministry of Petroleum manages the oil industry, the producer of oil and petrochemical products. MoP is in charge of all issues pertaining to exploration, extraction, exploitation, distribution and exportation of crude oil and oil products. In addition, according to the "", issuing import...

, an oil refinery that is to be constructed in the vicinity of the zone will raise the momentum of economic growth of the province.

External links

• "Making Waves", The Guardian, March 30, 2007
• Official website from the Government of Iran