Ray Cement; The factory that becomes a museum

The construction of Rey Cement Factory, as the first factory in the country’s cement industry, was completed on December 29, 1941, and by the end of this summer, as the CEO of the Tehran Renovation Organization said, the first phase of turning this factory into a museum will be completed.

According to IRNA, the Ray Cement Factory is located in the protected area of ​​District 20 of the capital; An aging factory that once housed the country’s first cement production line and was the source of much of the country’s road construction and infrastructure development.

This factory is located in the area of ​​the ancient hill of Rashkan Fortress, Tughral Tower, Shahrari historical fort, Cheshmeh Ali, Ibn Babavieh historical cemetery, Bibi Zubeida tomb, Shah Abdolazim shrine and Abbasi and Qajar caravanserais.

In fact, it can be said that this factory, which in the past was responsible for part of the development and construction in the country, and today is definitely part of the most important cultural capital of Tehran province, and a brief look at the history of this factory and its unique role in development And the development of the country confirms this.

The cement factory was put into operation on a 9-hectare land on December 29, 1961, and was active before April 1984, when production stopped due to the development of Tehran and the spread of excessive pollution by the factory.

This factory, which is almost 90 years old, was included in the list of national monuments of the country in 1997 and was named Tehran Industrial Heritage. According to the decision of the Cabinet, the factory was handed over to Tehran Municipality for 30 years.

The municipality of District 20, as the custodian, obtained a judicial permit to remove the possession and delivery of this valuable national heritage, and it was decided that after the renovation and revival of the Rey Cement Factory, it would be a place for cultural and tourism activities in Tehran and Rey.

Some time later, the municipality of District 20 and the Tehran City Renovation Organization were responsible for recreating and turning the Ray Cement Factory into an industry museum; Of course, it should not be forgotten that the Ray Cement Factory had already been occupied by illegal occupiers and the building had been damaged.

Eventually, works were sent to recreate the Ray Cement Factory, and many projects were sent to the municipality from abroad and inside the country, and after several stages of judging, it is said that part of the process of turning the factory into a museum will be completed this year.

The CEO of the Tehran City Renovation Organization had recently said that the Shahreri Cement Factory had been abandoned after its closure in 1983 and that no maintenance was taking place. Failure to maintain this building and entering and occupying it had caused damage to this building.

According to Kaveh Ali Akbari, a series of beams and columns had been cut to remove the furnace in the factory hall.

He spoke about the work that is being done in connection with this building: From the beginning of 1400, we were able to enter the factory and its site, and at first, issues related to organizing this area were raised.

Haji Ali Akbari pointed out: The factory site was integrated with the Yadegar Imam branch of the Azad University, because at first, the university building was part of the Ray Cement factory building and was transferred to the Azad University and became an educational unit. And to make the factory site independent of the campus, a wall was built between the two sites.

The CEO of Tehran Municipality Renovation Organization stated about the executive plans for this building: The required works and operations were divided into three categories: short-term, medium-term and long-term.

He said: in the short-term work list, documentation and inventory of all the property and objects of the factory were done and in the second short-term plan, the lighting plan of the factory was determined through consultation, which will be implemented after the approval of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

Haji Ali Akbari regarding the conversion of the cement factory into a museum of industry added: the protection measures of the building known as diesel generator will be done before the rest of the buildings. In consultation with the museum’s commissioning experts, the building known as the Diesel Generator was intended for the Cement Museum.

He stated about the long-term goals for the regeneration of the factory: “Strategic plans have been formulated to turn this area into a cultural, social and tourism complex, but the municipality of Tehran alone is not able to do this and needs different resources from public and private institutions.” has it.

The CEO of Tehran City Renovation Organization added about the capabilities of the collection: This site has various capacities, including the establishment of knowledge-based companies and joint works, and also parts of this field can be considered as a film studio.

In his latest comment, however, he announced that we have started the executive measures for the reconstruction of the Rey Cement Factory, and according to the plan, its first phase is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Haji Ali Akbari pointed out: 3 projects are underway there; One is the establishment of the Museum of Cement Industry, the executive operations of which are followed in one of the buildings; We hope that all three will be completed and operational by the end of the summer of 1401.