AHVAZ, Khuzestan, July 24--A senior lawmaker said here on Monday that private companies will construct 10 new power plants in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan during the next decade.
According to IRNA, Kamal Daneshyar, who heads Majlis Energy Commission, further said at a meeting to study Khuzestan Water and Power Organization’s challenges that two power stations will be constructed in Ahvaz and three more in Khorramshahr, Omidieh and Mahshahr within the next five years.
“Work on these projects will begin this year and will take five years to complete,“ he said.
The lawmaker added that five more power plants will be constructed in Ahvaz (two stations), Behbahan, Khorramshahr and Andimeshk.
“These power stations will be constructed during five years after the completion of the first five projects,“ he said.
Daneshyar put the capacity of each power station at 100 megawatts. “Each power plant project is estimated to cost $400 million,“ he said.

There are some 15 exclusive halls in Tehran and 17 nationwide in addition to 325 shares dealing centers operating countrywide.

TEHRAN, July 24--Iran’s stock market chief has called for expediting the qualitative expansion of capital market, reported the Persian daily Donya-ye Eqtesad on Monday.
Ali Salehabadi, who heads Bourse Organization, further said at the inauguration ceremony of the 15th exclusive shares transaction hall in Tehran that there are some 15 exclusive halls in Tehran and 17 nationwide, adding that 325 shares dealing centers are also operating nationwide.
He said that certain steps have been taken to improve capital market operations, adding that audits have been encouraged to expand their cooperation with the stock market.
Esmail Kariminejad of Bank Maskan Brokerage Firm, which has set up the 15th exclusive shares transaction hall in Tehran, told the gathering that in addition to conducting deals, the firm will provide listed companies with specialized information on ways to increase their capital and conduct financial, economic and investment studies.
He said one of the company’s main responsibilities is to provide consultancy services.
The broker said the exclusive transaction hall can now operate with 100 brokers and this figure will increase to 200 once the capital market situation improves.

BANDAR ABBAS, Hormuzgan, July 24--A major international shipping company will operate direct weekly services from Chinese and Southeast Asian ports to Iran’s Persian Gulf port of Shahid Rajaei on Aug 13.
Alireza Cheshm-Jahan, Tidewater Middle East Marine Services Company’s manager for containers and transit affairs, told IRNA on Monday that France’s CMA-CGM has decided to launch the service, called CIMEX, using five container ships with capacities ranging from 2,300 to 2,700 TEU.
He said the company made the decision after several months of expert studies on market potentials and technical capabilities of the port.
He further noted that CMA-CGM is the world’s third largest shipping line with 242 modern container vessels operating in 80 major international routes.
The official said the French company is planning to add another 73 ships to its fleet by 2009, noting that Shahid Rajaei Port has managed to win attention of several major international shipping lines over the past two years.
“Tariffs have changed and investments have grown significantly to improve services in the past couple of years,“ he said.
He said the port has seen a 40-percent growth in services in the first half of 2006.

TEHRAN, July 24--The general outlines of the bill to improve and coordinate rules and regulations of temporary work contracts have been approved by the Majlis Social Commission for debate at the full house of the Parliament. However due to the backlog of urgent bills, it is yet to be discussed by lawmakers. As a consequence, this has created dissatisfaction among the labor community.
Stating the above to ISNA, Musa Reza Servati, member of Majlis Social Commission, urged the Majlis Presiding Board not to postpone the review of the bill any further.
“The Ministry of Labor has sought help from certain lawmakers to keep the bill pending and lawmakers have also signed the proposal in order to delay a review of the case for at least six months. They are waiting for the government to come up with a new bill, but we believe this is only an attempt to kill even more time.“
According to Servati, the government is doing so to avoid certain measures taken by the parliament. “Six months ago when the subject was placed at the Social Commission, representatives of the Labor Ministry were also present. They were asked to put forward their views but they didn’t. Now they want to delay the plan,“ he added.
The lawmaker argued that further delay will not be beneficial and that it is of paramount importance to have a clear-cut definition of temporary or permanent jobs and also specify unemployment insurance in the temporary work contracts.

TEHRAN, July 24--A senior Agriculture Jihad Ministry official said here on Monday that Iran does not produce or distribute genetically-modified (GM) agricultural products.
According to Fars news agency, Mohabbat Ali Naderi-Shahab, deputy minister for farming affairs, told reporters that the country does not even import GM seeds.
“The farmlands are free from any GM-related contaminations,“ he said, stressing that Europeans disagree with public consumption of GM products.
“We are also against consumption of GM products but support laboratory production for research,“ he said.
The official further noted that GM seeds will not be planted in Iran as long as a transparent law on public use of such products does not exist.
He, however, refused to answer a question regarding the alleged import of GM maize and Soya beans from Brazil and Argentina, stressing that the Commerce Ministry is in charge of importing these products.
Naderi-Shahab said top on the ministry’s priority list are self-sufficiency in agricultural products and sustainable development, stressing that protection of the environment and optimum use of water and soil resources are the prerequisites for sustainable development.
He said that state-guaranteed wheat purchase will continue, adding that the barley purchase scheme has been suspended as the farmers could sell their products at higher prices on the market.
He said the government is planning to provide the agriculture sector with 100 percent of its required funds, adding that production of colza seeds have increased by 90 percent against the figure for the year to March 2006.
He put the area under rice cultivation at 620,000 hectares and promised that the country will become self-sufficient in rice, as pledged by the minister, within the next three years.

The cabinet permitted changes in import tariff policies to regulate the fruit market and prevent a possible shortage of supply.

TEHRAN, July 24--Some 575,000 tons of fruit worth $184.1 million was imported through official entry points in the year to March 2006, reported the Persian daily Donya-ye Eqtesad on Monday.
Quoting the latest statistics by Iran’s Customs Administration, the daily said imported fruits mainly included bananas, oranges, coconuts, tangerines and pineapples.
It said the cabinet has permitted changes in import tariff policies to regulate the fruit market and prevent a possible shortage of supply.
Imported fruits have to comply with a 1967 law which requires imported fruits to undergo health checks before entering the country, it said, adding that Iran’s Customs Administration sends imported fruits to the Plants Quarantine Organization for further inspections before they are allowed to enter the market.
It said as per the same law, if anyone imports fruits without obtaining necessary health permits in advance, he or she will be given one month to take them out of the country or face legal action.
Import of dried, conserved and frozen fruit is also subject to the same law.
Ratified in 1967, the law on import of foods and drinks requires such products to undergo health checks at Health Ministry-affiliated centers.
According to this law, the importers are obliged to provide these centers with information on the ingredients, preservatives and other additives contained in imported foodstuff.

TEHRAN, July 24--Minister of Housing and Urban Development Mohammad Saeedikia said here on Monday that Iran is currently implementing several economic and industrial projects worth one billion dollars in Syria, underlining that the same could take place in Tehran-Dhaka interactions.
According to ISNA, the minister further said at the Fourth Iran-Bangladesh Economic Commission Meeting in Tehran that bilateral trade stood at a meager $70 million in 2005, expressing dissatisfaction with the low economic cooperation between the two country.
“The joint commission last met eight years ago, which means the two countries have lost numerous opportunities in various economic, technical and particularly construction fields,“ he said, adding, however, that political interactions are favorable.
The minister said that the two countries could develop bilateral cooperation in various fields, including industrial machinery, infrastructural projects, oil, petrochemicals, agriculture, fisheries and auto industry.
Saeedikia, who heads the Iranian party in the commission, said the two countries have agreed to sign a number of key cooperation agreements on customs affairs, preferential trade, avoidance of double taxation and air transportation.
Saifur Rahman, Bangladeshi minister of finance and planning and head of the country’s delegation, said at the meeting that Bangladesh is a favorable market for industrial products and that the country is in pressing need of such goods.
He said Bangladesh has launched its economic reform policy in light of the population boom-related challenges, stressing that if the country manages to maintain its last year’s 6.5 percent economic growth rate, it will be able to make social justice a reality.
The Bangladeshi minister added that poverty rate has declined in his country.

TEHRAN, July 24--Some 10 trillion rials will be needed to complete the Tehran-Shomal Highway and unless the fund is made available, it will be impossible to say when this major transportation project will be completed.
Stating the above to Fars news agency, the executive manager in charge of construction and development of highways at the Ministry of Roads and Transportation, Mohammad Reza Montazeri said that the project will involve the construction of at least 60 kilometers of tunnels.
“Between 500 and 600 billion rials has been spent so far on constructing the road and building about 10 kilometers of tunnels. However, another 10 trillion rials will be needed to complete the project.“
Montazeri added, “We sought 600 billion rials last year from the budget for the current year. However in the budget bill, the figure was reduced to 175 billion rials despite the fact that Majlis Development Commission proposed at least one trillion rials. However, only 125 billion rials was eventually approved for the scheme.“

TEHRAN, July 24--Iran’s ranking as the third largest consumer of gold in Asia makes it crucial for the country to devise special policies to expand the exploration of new gold mines.
Stating the above to Fars news agency on Monday, Behrouz Borna, manager of exploration affairs at the Geological and Mineral Explorations Company of Iran maintained that it is no longer acceptable to lag behind other countries in terms of gold production, adding that in view of the conditions in the mining sector, efforts should be made to identify and study potential gold mines at the earliest.
He added that the annual gold production in the world stands at around 2,600 tons while the supply and demand stands at around 4,000 tons per year. Asia tops world gold production with 53 percent of the total global production of this precious metal.
Turning to the programs carried out by the Geological and Mineral Explorations Company of Iran, Borna said, “In the first phase of the operations, some 1,000 sites were identified in 20 provinces, of which 35 were chosen for further exploration. Last year several gold mines became operational giving fresh lease of life to exploration efforts across the country.
The important gold mines were located at Agh Darreh, Sar-Mehr, Sharafabad, Zailik, Nouq Douz, Masjed Daghi and Nabijan.“
According to him, Sharafabad region has about 1.5 tons of proven gold reserves but this figure could even be higher as explorations have not been completed yet.
“The Geological and Mineral Explorations Company of Iran plans to conduct its operations in these regions in cooperation with several Chinese companies,“ he noted.