SEMNAN, Feb. 22--Some 500 billion rials will be invested in projects to generate power from new energy sources during the fourth five-year development plan (2005-2010), said the deputy head of State New Energies Organization here on Tuesday.
According to IRNA, Mohammad Ali Ramezani told reporters in the northeastern city of Semnan that power generation from new sources of energy would reach 500 megawatts by 2010.
He said there are plans to supply one percent of the countryÕs energy demands from new energies. ÒWe have spent some 60 billion rials on implementing new energy projects since last March,Ó he said, adding that the funds were used to create geothermal facilities in Sabalan, Ardebil province, and a solar power plant in the southern city of Shiraz.
Ramezani said geothermal wells have been dug successfully in the Sabalan region, stressing that the project could generate 200 megawatts of electricity per annum.
He said another 200-megawatt power plant would be constructed in Sabalan in the year to March 2006.

TEHRAN, Feb. ²²--A senior automotive industry official said here on Tuesday that the slow pace of cooperation between Iranian and French auto part makers is chiefly due to the hesitation of French companies following recent allegations against the L°¹ project.
Reza Danesh-Fahim, managing director of Iran Automotive Industries Development Company, told Fars news agency that the criticisms--mostly coming from the conservative lawmakers--of the multibillion-euro agreement with France's auto giant Renault on joint production of L°¹ budget sedans have harmed the trend of attracting foreign investments in the automotive sector.
ÒFrench auto part manufacturing firms have reservations about participating in joint ventures with Iranian companies in the L°¹ project,Ó he said, adding that the project would certainly bear fruits despite the criticisms.
He further noted that the French companies are worried about developments in Iran. He expressed opposition to a lawmaker's proposal to reduce the number of L°¹ cars to be produced in Iran, stressing that the project would lose its economic viability if production declines.
Major Iranian carmakers Iran Khodro and Saipa have reached an agreement with Renault to produce L°¹ budget sedans in Iran.
Renault and Iranian automobile manufacturers have agreed that the Iranian side would produce °µ percent of the parts in the first phase of the project, which begins in April .
Capital investment in the L°¹ project will total ±.µ billion euros. The price is estimated to be around ¸,°°° euros for full option models.

Iran had to purchase expensive gasoline in recent months due to high international gasoline prices.

TEHRAN, Feb. 22--A senior oil industry official said here on Tuesday that Iran imports gasoline from several parts of the world, including China, India and Brazil, stressing that the government would spend $475 million in the coming weeks on importing petrol.
Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, deputy head of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for international affairs, told Fars news agency that the government has in recent months imported gasoline both in cash and in exchange for crude and mazut.
He said the government has approved $475 million for importing gasoline until March to be able to meet the yearend rise in demand.
The official said Iran had to purchase expensive gasoline in recent months due to high international gasoline prices triggered by the upsurge in demand for petrol in the United States.
He further noted that the gasoline prices also went up in 2004 because of record high oil prices.
The government and the parliament have reportedly not yet reached a consensus on whether or not to ration petrol.
The government is pressing for rationing fuel from September. If the parliament gives the go-ahead, the government would distribute fuel through smart cards.
The national petrol consumption currently stands at 61 million liters per day.
Iran imports 21-23 million liters of gasoline per day, mainly from other Persian Gulf states.

New Delhi is looking at forging medium to long term relationships with countries like Iran, which will act as a transit for accessing Caspian crude oil.

NEW DELHI, India, Feb. 22--India is looking at using Iran and China to access oil and gas in Central Asian states including Kazakhstan where its flagship firms are pitching for stake in oilfields and setting up gas processing and petrochemical plants, Asia Pulse reported.
Changing its strategy, New Delhi is now looking at forging medium to long term relationships with countries like Iran, which will act as a transit for accessing Caspian crude oil.
"Kazakhstan is an important country from hydrocarbon resources point of view. But the problem is how do we access these. We can access oil from the Russian and Caspian region by bringing it to Iranian ports while China provides a ready market for downstream products and petrochemicals," Petroleum Secretary Sushil C. Tripathi said.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the foreign arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, wants a stake in Tengiz and Kashagan oilfields and hugely prospective Kurmangazy and Darkhan exploration blocks and has offered technical expertise in exploration and production (E&P) in nine others, including Akku and Shetusy.
State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd. wants to participate in building pipelines from Kazakhstan to China and has proposed setting up gas processing and petrochemical plants at Atyrau and Akhtau.
Tripathi said pipelines could transport Caspian and Mediterranean crude oil to Iran, from where it can be shipped to India. New Delhi is already negotiating projects worth $10 billion with Iran for import of gas over 25-30 years and setting up petrochemical projects.

TEHRAN, Feb. 22--The Danish-Iranian Business Forum was held at TehranÕs Esteqlal Hotel on Tuesday. Delegates from 15 Danish companies involved in various fields of manufacturing and industries took part in the forum.
Headed by the chairman of Confederation of Danish Industries, Johan Schroder, the 30-member delegation began talks on joint ventures with Iranian businesses on Tuesday.
A Foreign Ministry official told Iran Daily that the seminar aims chiefly at boosting economic relations as well as industrial and trade cooperation between Iran and Denmark.
Ahmad Vejdani, who heads the Denmark department at the Foreign Ministry, further said that the value of bilateral trade has reached $150 million per annum, stressing that the amount could go up to a great extent given the high potential for cooperation on both sides.
The official blamed low-profile economic relations on poor exchange of business contacts and lack of knowledge of Iranian industrialists about economic opportunities in Denmark, calling for greater economic interaction between the two countriesÕ businesspersons.
He said the trade balance is tilted in favor of Denmark, adding that Iran exports only $10 million worth of goods to Denmark per annum.
Vejdani said foodstuff, industrial goods and medicines account for most of IranÕs imports from Denmark. Iran, in return, exports minerals, dried fruits, handicrafts and rugs to that country.
He said three seminars would be held in Tehran on bilateral cooperation in the fields of foodstuff, oil and gas industries and air conditioning and cooling devices.
He said transfer of technology, Danish investments and cooperation in manufacturing sector would top bilateral economic talks at the seminar.
The official said a Danish company is planning to build cement factories in Firouzkouh, Sari and a Caspian city of Iran.
The official said Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM) would send a business delegation to Denmark later this year to explore trade opportunities.

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22--A private television channel in Azerbaijan Republic BM-TI TV here Monday reported that many Iranian companies are planning to increase investments in Armenia, IRNA said.
Quoting Iran's commercial attachŽ in Yerevan, Ali Najafi, the TV network said that Iranian and Armenian investors are planning to hold their first trade session in 2005. "Iranian and Armenian investors need to obtain more knowledge on each other's capabilities and potentials which necessitate the holding of such a meeting," Najafi underlined.
Iran and Armenia intend to boost industrial and trade relations and will provide suitable opportunities for both nations' private firms, he said.
In an interview with a Yerevan-based weekly in December, Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Alireza Haqiqian said Iran's relations with foreign countries, in particular its neighbors, are based on mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs.
Expressing satisfaction over growing Iran-Armenia ties, he said that the visits of Armenia's President Robert Kocharian to Tehran and President Mohammad Khatami's trip to Yerevan played a crucial role in further strengthening mutual ties.

TEHRAN, Feb. 22--The head of Management and Planning Organization (MPO) here on Tuesday advised the conservative-dominated Parliament not to discriminate between executive bodies in fund allocation.
According to IRNA, Hamid Reza Baradaran-Shoraka told reporters on the sidelines of the Majlis open session that the Parliament would most probably fail to meet the time schedule for studying the budget bill for the year to March 2006.
He further noted that the MPO is studying the changes the Parliament has proposed in the budget bill, stressing that disagreements between the government and the Parliament are natural.
The official noted the MPO has always tried to extend full cooperation to the Parliament, implying that the legislature has not reciprocated this goodwill.
Experts contend that the parliamentarians would not make major changes in the budget bill due to the very short time they have had to study the bill.
The ParliamentÕs Joint Commission was supposed to wrap up debate on the bill by Tuesday. However Baradaran-Shoraka said the commission was quite unlikely to be able to get the job done on time.
The Seventh Parliament made structural changes in the fourth development plan (2005-2010) bill last year, ruining several months of hard work by a number of experts and government officials who had drawn up the bill.

LONDON, Feb. 22--Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom said here Monday that the interest shown by British companies to boost investments and trade with Iran indicates brighter future for economic ties between the two countries, according to IRNA.
Speaking at a gathering of about heads of 80 British companies at the Iran-British Chamber of Commerce, Mohammad Hossein Adeli said that Iran's economic situation offers better opportunities than markets in neighboring countries.
He further referred to the structural reforms in Iran and the growth of business and trade indices in recent years.
The diplomat said that Tehran-London economic and trade relations are not commensurate with the capabilities and needs of the two sides and Britain has not caught up with other European countries in this respect.
Iranian companies have solid expertise in engineering and technical services which provides new opportunities for cooperation in third countries.

TEHRAN, Feb. 22--Head of South Korea's Chambers of Commerce Yong Sung Park and the Chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines (ICCIM) Ali Naqi Khamoushi in a meeting here on Monday explored ways of expanding economic and trade ties between the two countries' private sectors, according to IRNA.
At the meeting, Park pointed out that South Korea will do its utmost to ensure active participation of Iran in sessions held by the other nations' chambers of commerce.
"South Korea's main import from Iran is oil," he noted.
For his part, Khamoushi underscored Iran's needs to attract foreign capital in its private sector. He further called on Korean companies to look more closely at the Iranian market.
Khamoushi also dwelt on Iran economic policies which, he said, are moving towards privatization. He pointed out that down-sizing the government will provide a suitable opportunity for bilateral cooperation.
The official said that the 7th Iran-South Korean economic commission meeting will be held in the near future.
Park invited an Iranian delegation to visit his country for further talks. Volume of trade between Iran and South Korea was about $4 billion in 2004. Iran's export to South Korea stood at $1.8 billion in 2003.
He said that Iran's exports to South Korea showed a growth of 38 percent in terms of value compared to the amount for the same period the previous year, adding the rise was due to the increase in export of crude oil.
He noted that South Korea's export to Iran amounted to $1.7 billion in 2003, showing a 44 percent rise compared to the figure for the previous year.
The official said facilitating export and import, removing non-tariff barriers for imports of all goods and reforming the laws on supporting investments and reducing income tax rate from 65 to 25 percent were among the measures taken by the government in the fields of economic management in recent years.
He said Iran is the fifth major exporter of crude oil to South Korea, adding fruit, fruit juice, petrochemical products including naphtha and methanol and hand-woven carpets were among other items exported to South Korea.
Khamoushi noted that close cooperation between the two countries pave the way for speedy transfer of capital, technical know-how, management and marketing expertise which are necessary for trade and industry.
He further said the South Korean companies can be actively present on the Iranian market due to Iran's strategic geopolitical situation as a bridge between the East and the West.