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By Kamila Aliyeva

Iran's Road and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi underlined that his ministry and the world's leading turboprop manufacturer ATR are in the final stages of a passenger plane deal, IRNA reported.

'Negotiations for the purchase of aircraft from ATR have reached the final stage and at the moment, the two sides are at the stage of exchanging documents,' Akhoundi said.

The minister added that with the finalization of document exchange, the introduction of the first ATR aircraft into Iran’s air fleet will begin to be followed up through official channels.

The deal was first signed in February 2016 in Tehran following the commercial discussions held in Rome and Paris during visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Akhoundi to those countries.

Iran has several private and public airline companies in operation, among which IranAir is the oldest one. The number of operational airports in the country is 46.

Since sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic were lifted last year, Iran began to take steps to upgrade its air industry, revamp an aging airline fleet, equipment and airports.

When sanctions were eased in January 2016 after Iran certified that it had shelved its nuclear program, Tehran immediately opened talks with Boeing Co. and the European manufacturer Airbus to buy hundreds of aircraft. The deals represent the biggest commercial result of the nuclear accord.

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