Milad Tower → The world’s 6th tallest telecommunication tower in Tehran, Iran
Milad Tower (Borj-e Milad in Farsi), dominating Tehran’s mega capital of Iran – stands as a 435-meter (1,427 ft) telecommunications tower. It holds the title of the tallest tower in Iran, ranks as the sixth tallest radio tower in the world, and the twenty-fourth tallest unsupported structure globally.
Additionally, Milad tower of Tehran, with a total floor area of 13,000 square meters in its upper section, leads all telecommunications towers worldwide in functional space.
Due to its remarkable height and distinctive appearance, the Milad Tower stands visible from almost everywhere in Tehran and thus serves as one of the symbols of Iran’s capital, alongside the Azadi Tower. Furthermore, Borj-e Milad has an octagonal base, symbolizing ancient Iranian architecture.
The Milad Tower faces Shahid Hemmat Highway to the north, Hakim Highway to the south, Shahid Chamran Highway to the east, and Sheikh Fazlollah Nouri Highway to the west. Furthermore, the construction took almost 11 years, and its main height reaches 435 meters.
Design, Structure & history of Milad Tower
There is significant interest in the background history, the exact idea, and the dates when the Milad Tower’s construction began. Additionally, the idea of constructing it dates back to the early 1970s when a massive project called the Pahlavi City Plan started. However, the plan never advanced and failed due to the Islamic Revolution. On the other hand, some interpretations view the project as a standalone endeavor, separate from this larger plan.
Explore Ancient Persia your Way with Best Deal Iran tour Packages →
On the other hand, some sources strongly refer the design and idea of constructing the Milad tower entirely to the period following the Iranian Revolution. Specifically, the proposal to create a new symbol for Tehran emerged in the early 1990’s.
Consequently, the Tehran Municipality initiated extensive research to find a suitable location for the construction and design for “symbol of Tehran”. During the initial studies for the Milad Tower, researchers proposed 21 locations within Tehran. They initially shortlisted four sites and eventually chose the Gisha hills as the current location for the Milad Tower. Thus, the project to design and construct the Milad Tower began.
Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the former mayor of Tehran from 1990-1998, believes that he introduced the concept for the Tehran Milad Tower during his service as mayor and that his international visits influenced the idea.
He added, “During our various visits to capital cities around the world, we observed that many of these cities had buildings that served both as symbols of the city and as tourist attractions.” Consequently, in 1991, city officials proposed constructing a symbolic tower and hall for Tehran. Subsequently, by the end of 1993, they selected the current location from among 17 proposed sites.
Beginning of Construction
Milad Tower plan and final construction started its groundbreaking in December 1997, following three years of studies on its feasibility and potential, under the initial name of Yadman (Tehran International Communications Center).
Subsequently, in 2001, the Tehran City Council proposed changing the name to Milad Tower in honor of the 100th birthday of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.
The construction of the tower spanned 11 years. During the first eight years, workers completed only 40% of the tower. However, after Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the Mayor of Tehran, accelerated the project, they built the remaining 60% within 30 months.
Opening date
Finally, after 11 years of construction – the inauguration day and opening ceremony of Tehran’s Milad Tower marked on October 8, 2008, the Milad Tower officially opened with the presence of members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Tehran City Council members, and Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the Mayor of Tehran.
The event featured the slogan “The Sky is Closer.” Furthermore, over 250 Iranian and foreign journalists covered the ceremony.
What is the purpose of building the Milad Tower?
We built the 435-meter-high tower to create a memorable structure that symbolizes the city of Tehran and meets the telecommunications and broadcasting needs of the mega capital. The main functions of this tower are as follows:
The development and expansion of a wireless access network
Establishing appropriate infrastructure for new television systems
Optimizing radio and television coverage
Meteorological applications and traffic control
Expanding and optimizing coverage for wireless and mobile networks
Beside being a symbol of Tehran, the main purpose of building such a 435 meter high tower was to create a tourist attraction by incorporating a range of facilities and amenities.
These include tourism, commercial, and cultural facilities, such as a revolving restaurants, open and enclosed observation decks, art galleries, a sky dome, the Iranian Celebrities Museum, the Municipal Gifts Museum, a food court, commercial units, exhibition areas, and an international conference center with 15 different halls.
Additionally, the project will feature attractions like a dolphin park, paintball, a 7D gaming cinema and much more.
Worth to visit?
Deciding whether to visit Milad Tower or now it largely hinges on the weather conditions; on a clear day, the views are truly spectacular, but otherwise, it might not be worth the time. At the foot of the tower, you will find the distinct Tehran Milad Tower International Convention Centre, which occasionally hosts concerts of locals. In 2012, Zaha Hadid was awarded the design competition for the tower’s second phase, a project that envisions the addition of several more lower-rise towers. However, as of now, construction has not yet begun.
Interesting Facts About Milad Tower?
Here are some interesting facts about Milad Tower of Tehran – it stands 1,427 ft, is the tallest tower in Iran, the tower carries five main elements: foundation, transition (lobby) structure, shaft, head structure and antenna mast. The lobby structure including of 6 floors, to which, the first three floors consist of 63 trade units, 11 food courts, a cafeteria and a commercial products exhibition, which is supposed to be 260 m2 (2,800 sq ft).
The first and second floors of Iran’s tallest, Milad Tower underground consist of official and installing sections and data center. The ground floor is designed as an entrance and visitors reception. The shaft is a concrete structure which is 315 meter-high (1,033 ft) from the ground floor. In three different sides of it 6 elevators are used to transfer the visitors to the head of the tower at the speed of 7 m/s (0.0070 km/s) and there is an emergency staircase exists at the fourth side.
The head of the Milad Tower is build from a steel structure weighing about 25,000 tonnes and consisting of 12 floors. In the top floors of the tower, fire-immune areas were built as a shelter zone, a closed observation deck, a cafeteria, a public art gallery, an open observation deck, a revolving restaurant, telecommunication floors, a VIP restaurant, Mechanical floors, and a sky dome.
What makes Milad Tower special?
Another fact is the four-stage 120 meter antenna mast of the Milad Tower, the prominent landmark of Tehran’s floor of the mast is for the adjustment of public users’ telecommunication antennas and the three upper floors are devoted to the antenna of radio and television organization of Iran.
Furthermore, the Milad Tower complex features a parking area of 27,000 m2 (290,000 sq ft), a large computer and telecommunications unit, a cultural and scientific unit, a commercial transaction centre, a temporary showroom for exhibiting products, a public library, an exhibition hall, and an administrative unit. Milad Tower has an octagonal base, symbolizing traditional Persian architecture.
0