TEHRAN, April 18--A lawmaker said here Monday that with the completion of access to fuel cycle, the country now has the capability of producing fuel for nuclear power plants.
Hossein Afarideh told IRNA that with access to the know-how and technology, the government will not have to worry about generating 20,000 megawatts of energy as mandated by the Majlis.
He said this great achievement will give the government the opportunity to produce fuel for domestic nuclear power plants.
He added that obtaining the technical knowledge for production of nuclear fuel enables the nation to build nuclear power plants.
“With the enrichment of uranium to the level of 3.5 percent, the fuel required for all light-water reactors can be supplied,“ the MP underlined.
“If we want to produce fuel for Bushehr nuclear power plant, over 30 tons of uranium of 3.5 grade is needed which in turn requires operation of 1,400 chain of 164 units,“ he stated.
The technology, he pointed out, will be used in producing neutrons used in research reactors, radiography and production of medicine.
Meanwhile, the electricity industry will expand with the capability achieved in uranium enrichment, Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said here last week.
Two new nuclear power plants in addition to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant will be constructed this year, declared the minister, who was accompanying the president on his visit to the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi.
According to a law passed by Majlis, 18 more nuclear power plants required to supply 20,000 megawatts of electricity in line with the country’s 20-year ’Vision Plan’ are to be established.
“There will be no more power outage in the country this summer as 1,700 megawatts of electricity shall have been added to the country’s electricity supply network,“ the minister added.

TEHRAN, April 18--The Ahmadinejad administration has committed the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to construct a new refinery in Arvand Free Trade Zone, Khuzestan province.
Morteza Mamouei, the FTZ’s managing director, told Fars news agency that the Oil Ministry has estimated the cost of the project at two billion dollars.
The official further said that an Italian company has undertaken the feasibility studies for the project without naming the company.
“The new refinery will use oil produced in the Azadegan and Darkhoin areas,“ he told Fars news agency, adding that the project will be launched this year.
Earlier this month, a lawmaker from oil-rich Khuzestan province, said that a huge oil refinery will be constructed by private companies in the southwestern province.
Kamal Daneshyar, who heads the Majlis Energy Commission, said the refinery will be constructed at a total cost of $3.5 billion between Mahshahr and Omidieh, Khuzestan province.
He said that private companies are to supply the entire funds and that the refinery will have the capacity of refining 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.
The Oil Ministry has agreed, in principle, that private companies construct refineries.
Khuzestan produces two million barrels out of Iran’s total daily export of 2.5 million barrels of crude oil.
However, the province refines only 250,000 bpd at Abadan Refinery. Experts maintain that Khuzestan oil refining capacity must increase to over a million bpd. Iran’s oil refining capacity will reach 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2010, the closing year of the Fourth Plan.
According to reports, Iran is planning to invest $14 billion in refinery construction and development projects during the next five years, when domestic gasoline production will also rise significantly.

TEHRAN, April 18--Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Mohammad Soleimani said here on Tuesday that the ministry is planning to double the number of fixed and mobile phone lines by next March.
According to Iran’s Economic News Agency, the minister further said that the fixed phone network has not developed adequately in terms of value-added services in recent years, stressing that the telecommunications infrastructure remains poor in rural areas.
He said the infrastructural shortcomings need to be overcome through greater teamwork, adding that if one part is ailing, the others will have to try to make up for it.
Soleimani said, however, that it is not possible for the ministry to meet the entire demand for ICT services.
“For instance, those who have recently registered for SIM cards expect us to give them their SIM cards within a day,“ he said, adding that demand is so high in large cities like Tehran that the telecommunications services will have to grow significantly.
“If we extended the deadline for SIM card registration by another two weeks, our expectation is that 1.5 million more people would have registered,“ he explained.
The state and private sectors have been tasked under the Fourth Five-Year Plan (2005-2010) to provide 18.5 million fixed phone lines. The private sector’s share is 3.5 million.
By March 2005, there were some 17.7 million fixed phone lines in Iran, all of which were provided by the state sector.
He also said that 3.4 million land phone lines have been offered to subscribers nationwide since last March.
The private sector provided 400,000 fixed phone lines in the year to March 2006.
There is also a major domestic private sector mobile phone operator in Iran, which has pledged to provide 10 million SIM cards over the next few years.

HAMEDAN, April 18--Some 84 new dams will become operational in the next four years, Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said here on Tuesday.
According to ISNA, the minister said during a tour of Ekbatan Dam in the western city of Hamedan that 15 dams will go on stream by next March, adding that Taleqan Dam in Tehran will become operational by June.
“Some 10 billion cubic meters of water will be added to the country’s (manageable) water reserves, once these (15) dams go into operation,“ he said, stressing that the Parliament has promised to cooperate with the ministry on funding the projects.
He said 4,000 megawatts of power will be added to the national power supply network this year, when hydroelectric power stations will generate up to 2,000 megawatts.
The minister said thermal power plants will contribute 2,500 megawatts.
Some 86 dam building projects are being implemented across the country. Studies are being conducted on another 125 dams.
This is while 14 dams have become operational since March 2005 and 15 more dams will be commissioned in the year to March 2007.
In addition to generating power, Iran needs dams to control growing water supply shortages. Desert provinces in central Iran are facing severe water crisis.
Some 93 percent of urban population as well as 63 percent of rural residents have access to clean water in Iran.

Gold traded at a fresh 25-year high of $617.60/$618.40 an ounce in international markets on Tuesday.

TEHRAN, April 18--Record high gold prices will negatively affect the already critical situation of inflation in Iran, said a senior Management and Planning Organization (MPO) official here on Tuesday.
Mohammad Kordbachcheh, MPO director general for macroeconomic affairs, told Fars news agency that gold is a major consumer item in Iran, stressing that a rise in the prices of gold and gold coins will worsen inflation.
He called on the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) to announce its figures on the status of the precious metal in the basket of consumer goods and services to enable analysts to determine the exact impact of high gold prices on other economic indices.
Gold traded at a fresh 25-year high of $617.60/$618.40 an ounce on Tuesday as rising oil prices resurrected fears of inflation worldwide.
Spot gold was continuing to go up and quoted at $617.70 an ounce.
Dealers say gold is unlikely to stop much before $620.
Gold was fixed in London at $617.25 on December 8, 1980.
International analysts say spiraling crude oil prices over $72 a barrel and weakening of the US currency have sparked buying in gold.
They say the weakening dollar against leading currencies has boosted buying in dollar-denominated metal as better option.

TEHRAN, April 18--Chicken consumption has declined by 20 percent in recent months as concerns about bird flu have caused many people to turn to the consumption of red meat and fish, a senior poultry industry official said here on Tuesday.
According to Moj news agency, Alireza Mokhtari, managing director of Poultry Farmers Union, told reporters that some 3.7 million people are involved in poultry industry-related businesses, stressing that the industry is one of the largest economic sectors in Iran with a financial turnover of seven trillion rials.
“The prospects of this industry remain gloomy,“ he said, adding that state authorities have failed to help the industry.
He said Iran had managed to turn into a major exporter of chicken meat and eggs before the onset of bird flu.
The union leader said the government is purchasing eggs at prices below the production costs.
Agriculture Jihad Minister Mohammad Reza Eskandari said last month that Iran is free of avian flu as far as chicken production is concerned, stressing, however, that bird flu fears have led to a surplus supply of chicken.
The minister told reporters that the killer disease has not afflicted industrial poultry farming units, adding that the government is purchasing chicken from farmers to reduce their financial losses.
“We buy chicken meat from farmers at 15,000 rials per kilo, whereas the product sells for 12,000-13,000 rials on the market,“ he said, adding that the huge purchase of chicken meat from farmers is unprecedented in the history of the Agriculture Jihad Ministry’s Livestock Affairs Support Company.
“Chicken production has not fallen commensurate with the decline in demand,“ he said.
Fears of bird flu have caused disruptions in red meat and chicken markets.
Prices of chicken and eggs have fallen sharply in recent months against a steep rise in prices of red meat and fish. Red meat consumption has gone up in the wake of the people’s refusal to have chicken out of fears of avian flu.
There is no official report on the outbreak of the disease among humans in Iran.