The world’s largest hand-woven carpet measuring 5,627 square meters will soon be unveiled in Tehran. Disclosing this, Iran Carpet Company managing director, Jalaledin Bassam told Mehr on Tuesday that the carpet was ordered for the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
A contract to this effect worth 80 billion rials was signed in September 2005 by the then managing director of ICC, Mohammad Ali Karimi and Abu Dhabi Mayor Khalfan Gheith Al-Mahirabi.
The deal entailed a 20-percent net profit for the ICC, according to Bassami.
He added that 1,000 Iranian weavers used some 30 tons of wool and 15 tons of cotton for weaving the carpet under the supervision of 50 experts in three large workshops. Some 25 natural dyes were used in the carpet which weighs around 45 tons, he continued.
Bassami noted that the ICC has also received orders from Oman to weave 24 pieces of carpets and two carpet tableaus, worth one billion dollars, together measuring 550 square meters, for the Sultan of Oman’s palace.
Orders worth over 10 billion rials have also been received from Iranian businesspeople in Europe to weave carpets measuring a total of 2,000 square meters.
Bassami stressed that taking orders from foreign countries not only contributes to increasing foreign exchange reserves, but also boosts the global reputation of Iranian hand-woven carpets.

Fars province ranks first in terms of the variety of herbs.

Southern province of Fars meets over 70 percent of the demands of domestic herbal medicine factories, according to the director general of provincial Natural Resources Department.
Mehrzad Kherad told ISNA on Tuesday that close to 13,500 hectares in Fars province are under cultivation of herbs used for medical purposes. He added that the department plans to expand the area under cultivation. He called on officials to establish herbal medicine factories in the province.
Criticizing bulk sales of herbs to foreign countries, he said that through proper packaging of these products, export revenues will increase by 10 times.
The official noted that if livestock breeders grow medicinal herbs in addition to breeding cattle, they can also gain a source of huge revenues.
The province ranks first in terms of the variety of herbs.
Earlier, Kherad warned that improper export policies and the apathy toward plantation and preservation of a certain number of herbs with medicinal properties in the province, are driving some species to extinction.
He said that liqorice root will be completely dried out across the province if the present situation continues.
“Unfortunately, no macro strategies have been worked out for the expansion of medicinal herbs. Presently, our much valuable herbs with medicinal qualities are exported raw in total disrespect of the need for preservation,“ he concluded.

South Korean firms are interested in investing in Iran’s energy development projects, especially in liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Announcing this, South Korean Deputy Minister of Commerce Lee Jae-hoon stated that companies from the East Asian country are determined to expand cooperation with their Iranian counterparts, IRNA reported.
Iran is the fourth largest supplier of oil to South Korea.
In a meeting with visiting Iranian deputy foreign minister, Mehdi Mostafavi in the South Korean capital on Monday, Lee stated, “Seoul is encouraging its firms and investors to boost relations with Iranian private sector.“
Referring to approximately eight billion dollar trade between Iran and South Korea in 2006, he noted that there are still untapped potentials for expanding ties.
The official called for exchange of expert delegation and undertaking joint projects in a third country.
Mostafavi, for his part, said that Iran sees no problem in bolstering relations with the Asian country.
Tehran, he said, welcomes participation of South Korean firms in infrastructure development projects as well as energy development schemes.
Tehran and Seoul are preparing the ground for export of gas from Iran to South Korea, Mostafavi underlined.
Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia. Mostafavi is in South Korea to attend the two-day Sixth Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) in Seoul which opened on Monday.
Addressing the gathering, Mostafavi voiced Iran’s readiness to cooperate with countries which are pioneer in the fields of energy, agriculture, biotechnology, information technology, education and tourism.
The Islamic Republic is also prepared to work within ACD framework in sections such as e-government, e-commerce, smartcards, etc, he stated.
The official called for the need to observe ethical codes in using information technology and information as well as preserving indigenous culture of Asian nations against cultural invasion of the West. The ACD was created in 2002 to promote Asian cooperation at a continental level, helping to integrate the previously separate regional organizations of political or economical cooperation such as ASEAN, SAARC or the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council. Iran joined the body in 2004.
Foreign ministers and senior officials from 30 Asian nations are meeting in South Korea to discuss digital divide among rich and poor countries and other regional and international issues.

Some 10 billion rials will be needed to set up a center for breeding silver pomfret.

Iranian experts have managed for the first time to artificially breed silver pomfret, director general of Aquatic Resources Breeding and Restocking at Iran Fisheries Organization announced.
Last week, researchers in Sistan-Baluchestan province managed to breed silver pomfret, one of the most expensive species of fish in the world and a valuable sea creature in Iran’s southern waters, Mohammad Rahimi Danesh told ISNA on Tuesday.
Fingerlings produced artificially are being kept in a private center for shrimp culture, the official added.
So far, the only center capable of breeding the precious fish in region was the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Researches (KISR), he noted.
Rahimi Danesh said that establishment of a pilot center for breeding of fish is on the organization’s agenda. “Some 10 billion rials will be needed to set up a center for silver pomfret.“
Stressing that stocks of silver pomfret is on decline in Iranian waters, the official cited latest researches conducted by Iran’s Fisheries Research Organization based on which population of the species fell by half in recent years.
He appealed to officials to take action to conserve silver pomfret and check its growing decline.
Breeding of the species is economically viable and plays a key role in the lives of people in southern Iran, Rahimi Danesh stressed.

Swiss energy group EGL on Monday said it had completed a 25-year deal with the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) to deliver 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe.
Joachim Conrad, head of EGL’s gas business, told Reuters in an interview that the deal plans for Iranian gas to flow through Turkey, Greece and Albania. In order to reach Italy, a new pipeline under the Adriatic Sea would be built, he said, ArabianBusiness.com reported.
Conrad declined to disclose the value of the gas deal but said it was above 10 billion euros and below 22 billion euros--depending on a number of factors, including the price of energy.
“With this move, we create a fourth way to deliver gas to Western Europe,“ he said. Up to now, most European gas has been piped in via Russia, the North Sea or from North Africa.
The new Trans Adriatic Pipeline, now in the planning phase, should be completed in 2010, he said. EGL is now in final negotiations with possible pipeline partners and aims to disclose their names over the summer.
The new pipeline, in which EGL expects to invest up to 150 million euros in equity, will join existing pipes that run from Iran through Turkey to new lines running from Greece via Albania to Italy.
The accord with Iran was signed several months ago but made public only on Monday at EGL’s half-year earnings news conference.
EGL, also known as Elektrizitaetsgesellschaft Laufenburg, is 87 percent owned by Axpo Holding AG, a non-listed energy group with 9.4 billion francs in annual sales that is in turn owned by a consortium of Swiss cantons (states).
Meanwhile, Rasoul Salmani, a NIGEC official in charge of supervision of gas export, told ISNA that negotiations are still underway and the deal has not yet been finalized.
The official stated that EGL senior directors are expected to come to Iran to hold talks in this respect.
In initial stage, Swiss was supposed to strike a contract with Turkey on transfer of gas via that country, he explained, adding that continuation of talks depends on Swiss-Turkey deal.
“As I am so far informed, the Swiss company has not provided such contract.“
According to him, if the deal goes ahead, Iran will export 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to the European country in the initial stage. In second phase, the export will increase to 5.5 billion cubic meters, Salmani concluded.

Bus and truck output increased by 151 percent to 276 buses and 2,386 trucks during April 21-May 21.

Production at domestic automobile plants increased by 13 percent to 160,841 heavy vehicles, cars and buses during April 21-May 21 compared to figures for the same period last year.
IRNA quoted a report by Ministry of Industries and Mines as saying that car production rose by 10 percent to exceed 133,000 units in the period.
Meanwhile, more than 23,000 pickups and 337 minibuses were manufactured in the one-month period, showing a 35-percent and a 107-percent growth respectively.
Bus and truck output increased by 151 percent to 276 buses and 2,386 trucks during April 21-May 21.
The report stated that the highest number of cars manufactured in the period was Pride Nasim and Saba with 31,890 units followed by gas-fuelled Peugeot RD with 11,991 units and Peugeot 206 with 11,283.

An average 28 percent of drinking water is wasted annually in the country, stated the managing director of Tehran Water and Sewage Company.
Speaking to Fars on Tuesday, Davoud Mollaei cited the Vision 2020 target based on which water wastage is projected to reach 17 percent during a decade and pointed out that the international standard is 10-12 percent.
The organization’s plans, he noted, were successful in reducing potable water wastage in the province by 1.1 percent.
The official vowed to bring the figure down to 25.3 percent by March 2008 from the current 27.4 percent.
The organization will renovate water transmission networks and change water meters to achieve the goal, he added.
Meanwhile, ILNA reported that the Third International Water Industry Exhibition will begin on June 14 in Mashhad, northeastern Khorasan Razavi province.
Director of the event told reporters that participants will display their latest achievements in the fields of water pumping, electropumps, generators, pipes, water filtration products as well as water treatment devices.
Mohammad Reza Daneshyar noted companies from China, France, Germany, Hungary and Italy will take part in the four-day event.
According to him, 90 domestic firms will also participate in the exhibit organized jointly by Energy Ministry, Khorasan Razavi Water and Sewage Company as well as provincial Rural Water and Sewage Department.
The official recalled that most regions in the country are poor in water resources and have low precipitation.
The exhibition will mainly focus on the role of water industry in alleviating water shortage.

Persian Gulf International Airport in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) in the hydrocarbon-rich Asalouyeh Port will begin handling international flights from June 22.
Announcing this, managing director of PSEEZ told ISNA on Tuesday that international flights will operate to Istanbul, Turkey, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Abdoljalil Razavi noted that 15-day visas will be issued for foreign investors and experts upon arrival at the airport. It is hoped that international flights will help encourage foreign investments in Asalouyeh which is home to South Pars, the world’s largest offshore gas reserves.
The construction of the airport began in 2003 in the hydrocarbon-rich port in southern Bushehr province. The airport opened to traffic in July 2006, replacing the original temporary airport.
Conservationists as well as the Department of Environment have expressed concern over the probable adverse impacts of the airport on regional mangrove forests.