Financial Tribune - State-run housing projects in Iran are usually theatrics staged by governments, despite millions of dollars of spending that usually lead to the squandering and misappropriation of public funds, Mohammad Reza Zohrehvandi, the chairman of Industries Commission of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, says.

What follows is a translation of his write-up published on the chamber�s website:

Mass production of housing by governments has a long history in Iran; the so-called �National Housing Initiative� is not the first.

Mehr Housing Plan of the previous administration has by far been the most important of such projects over the past decade, the economic consequences of which need to be thoroughly evaluated for future reference.

It was clear from the outset that the Mehr Housing Plan was an ill-considered project conceived against the backdrop of copious revenues the country gained from the then-high oil prices. The implementation of the project was delegated to state-run and semi-governmental organizations, which were utterly bereft of expertise.