Al Monitor | Maysam Bizaer: Major Iranian urban centers have seen unprecedented air pollution in recent years. According to officials, it's caused primarily by the many cars on the streets, with�heavy vehicles�including�trucks�and buses�emitting 63% of air-polluting particles.�An estimated�350,000�dilapidated heavy vehicles, according to the�traffic police, are particularly large producers of�pollutants. These vehicles also consume more fuel than newer vehicles. Aging�cars, meanwhile, consume�60% to�100% more fuel than�than new ones, according to�Mohammad Mehdi Talaei, a member of the Car Scrapping Crafts Union.


Iran has long sought to rid its streets of these aged vehicles. At least 1,230,000 such vehicles � some�have put the number at�more than 2 million���were scrapped�in the decade ending in the last Iranian year (March 2016-March 2017).

A plan was devised�four years ago to�replace old cars�with new, mostly imported ones. But the process has ground nearly to a halt due to a�lack of coordination�among different bodies as well as troubles with�financing. A�ban on car imports�imposed in the current Iranian year further slowed down the process. Although the�ban�was lifted�Dec. 31, only 110,000 out of the 800,000 dilapidated cars�planned for this year have been scrapped so far, with less than a month remaining.

The plan has�not been abandoned. Earlier this month, the government announced a�major project�to scrap 202,500 dilapidated heavy vehicles�and replace them with new ones, to�be launched in the next Iranian year. It is projected to take�three years to complete at a cost of $7 billion. There are�plans to extend it later on to include cars�and motorcycles.

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