A member of parliament has said Iran is ready to build up to 500,000 residential units in Syria as part of that country’s reconstruction projects.

Mohammad-Reza Rezaee-Kuchi, who is the chairman of the Islamic Republic parliament’s construction committee said he was in Syria recently with a delegation of Iran’s ministry of roads and urban development to discuss how Iran could participate in the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

Two years ago, Iran signed an agreement with Syria to build 30,000 residential units, but a deputy minister later said the government could build 200,000 units.

Government officials had said earlier that Iran does not intend to pay for the projects but wants to secure a role for its companies in Syria’s construction. This would undoubtedly include the Revolutionary Guard construction arm, Khatam ol-Anbia, which has a dominating position in Iran due to its political clout.

Iran, which is suffering from a serious economic crisis, is unable to repair its own schools and complete public works. During mass protests in recent years disgruntled citizens have chanted slogans against involvement in Syria and elsewhere while many Iranians increasingly fall into poverty.

Hardliner president Ebrahim Raisi has promised to build 4 million apartments for low-income people during his term in office but so far, there is no sign of any construction.