4 Petchem Projects Near Completion

Domestic Economy Desk

Four petrochemical projects, which are being implemented in Iran under “Mehr-e Mandegar” Plan are near completion, said the deputy project manager of National Petrochemical Company (NPC).
Ahmad Zarei said all Mehr-e Mandegar petrochemical projects will become operational by the end of the present government’s tenure if the required fund be provided based on the scheduled time, IRNA reported on Tuesday.
The official said Kavian Petrochemical Plant in Assaluyeh, Bushehr province, the third NF Unit of Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex in Mahshar, Khuzestan province, Chimi Tex Arya and the first phase of West Ethylene Pipeline are the four projects which are ready for full operation.
He said that construction of Kurdestan and Mahabad petrochemical complexes are the other projects which are underway in the western part of the country.
Zarei went on to say that about $2 billion plus 1 trillion rials in forex and rial facilities respectively, have been allocated by National Development Fund to Mehr-e Mandegar petrochemical projects.
Implementation of some 17 petrochemical projects which are underway under Mehr-e Mandegar Plan are in final stages.
In September, deputy oil minister said over 100 new products will be manufactured once new three petrochemical projects are launched.
Abdolhossein Bayat said the government plans to inaugurate 19 new projects.
He said hydrogenation projects, Tabriz petrochemical development, pretreatment of industrial wastewaters, and treatment of Fajr petrochemical wastewaters in Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Zone are near inauguration.
“Currently, 73 development plans in the petrochemical industry are underway in various phases including designing, construction, installation and launching.”
The financial resources in forex and rials for 15 petrochemical projects have been entirely secured, he said.
Bayat urged for increasing the diversity of petrochemical products to 130 by the end of seventh five-year economic development plan (2020-2025).
The petrochemical industry has become an important aspect of Iran’s non-oil economy.

Trade With Lebanon Unfavorable

Translated by Farzam Vanaki

Trade with Lebanon stands at $130 million of which $80 million pertains to Iran’s exports and the rest is related to its imports, said the head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran on Tuesday.
Speaking during Iran-Lebanon Conference, Hamid Safdel said the current level of transactions between the two countries is not favorable, adding serious steps should be taken to increase it, IRNA reported.
Lebanon enjoys trade advantages including low-tariffs, easy access to Arabian and European markets and its government does not interfere with the economy, he said, adding both sides can use each others’ capabilities to prepare the grounds for further expansion of cooperation.
Iran exports carpet, pistachio, tobacco, industrial powder milk and dates to the country, while imports industrial products, fruit and mineral powders from it.
Safdel, who is also deputy industries, mines and trade minister, said Tehran and Beirut can resume their cooperation in the fields of petrochemicals, ceramic production, stone production, pastry and sweet production, grain cultivation, dried fruits and livestock products.
He also said Iran exported $113 billion worth of commodities to global markets in 2011, while it imported $62 billion worth of goods.
Non-oil products, petrochemicals, oil and gas condensates were among Iran’s major export items.
He added Iran has ranked first to third with respect to the production of the mineral, petrochemical and agricultural products.
Iran boasts of high capabilities for implementing projects in other countries, the official said.
During the past ten years, Iran has implemented 360 technical-engineering projects in 42 countries, he said.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is seeking to increase its share from the global economy, Safdel said, adding the most important plans to cooperate with the global economy include taking political competitive measures, creating innovation trade system, facilitating trade, developing electronic commerce and modifying the structure of human resources.

3,200 km of Freeways Under Construction

Domestic Economy Desk

Some 3,200 km of freeways are under construction which is unprecedented in Iran’s road construction history.
Speaking in the inaugural ceremony of the first phase of Shahid Hemat Freeway to Karaj, attended by first vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Ali Nikzad said large projects are underway nationwide in the field of transportation, IRNA reported.
He added once the projects go on stream, the northern, southern, eastern and western parts of the country will be connected to each other.
The minister said Karaj Freeway is one of the busiest in the country.
He said the average length of new roads which were inaugurated during the tenure of the past government was not more than 300 km, noting an agreement on the implementation of phase 2 of the projects, extended from Garmdareh to Imam Hussein Square of Karaj, Alborz province, have been signed.
Nikzad also said implementation of the project is one of the main priorities of the Roads and Urban Development Ministry.
The first phase of Shahid Hemat Freeway to Karaj with the length of 6 km is extended from Vardavard to Garmdareh.
In August, Information Dissemination Center of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development reported that about 1,021 km of roads have been constructed during the ninth and tenth governments (since 2005).
Provinces of East Azarbaijan, Khuzestan, West Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Markazi, Qazvin, Gilan, Lorestan, and Tehran have been connected to nationwide highway network since 2005.

1.5b Flowers Produced in Tehran

Translated by Leila Imani

Some 1.5 billion cut flowers were produced in Tehran province during the first half of current Iranian year (started March 20), said the head of the Union of Flower and Plant Producers of Tehran Province.
Gholam Hossein Soltan Mohammadi said on Tuesday that 100 million cut flowers were exported to the Persian Gulf Littoral States as well as Iraq, Baku, Armenia and Turkmenistan during the first half of the current year, ISNA reported.
Soltan Mohammadi said some 200 million cut flowers are expected to be exported from the province during the second half the current year.
The official said an increase in forex value has helped boost flower and plant export, adding the issue has also led to a significant drop in the flower import.
He added the country earned some $50 million revenues through exports of flowers and plants in the past year and the figure is expected to hit $100 million in the current year.
Soltan Mohammadi said the quality of flower production should improve, adding paying attention to mass production, modern packaging and drip irrigation is a necessity.
He said that negotiations have been held with Agricultural Jihad Organization of Tehran province to identify lands which are suitable for greenhouse establishment.

Training Courses With Euro-Asian Stock to Continue

The Second On-site Training Course attended by the members from the Federation of the Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) was held in Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) on Monday.
The course which is scheduled to be held annually in each member country aims at an introduction to Iran’s capital market covering the whole operation and functionality of the financial and commodity markets institutions and firms during November 10-21.
According to a report of IME international affairs department, this year’s participants came from stock exchanges of Turkey, Croatia, Armenia, Pakistan, Oman, Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Syria.
An overview of the exchange operation, products, trading method, venue, brokerage stations, trading floor, clearing house, collateral management, settlement of the trades, delivery and overall mechanism of the gold coin futures contracts were addressed by the presenters from IME.
The session followed by questions from the stock exchange experts which excited the audience and was proceeded by the applause and acclamations from the participants.
The delegations paid a visit to the trading floor of IME where they got familiar with the whole operation in transactions, ring trading, trading boards and screens, price discovery process and brokers’ operation in the venue.
The training tour of FEAS will continue to be held in other financial institutions of Iran. The last day of the tour is scheduled to awarding the course licenses to the participants in an official ceremony to be attended by the high ranking officials of the exchanges and FEAS secretary general in Tehran.

Steel Production

Iran produced 8.73 million tons of crude steel during the seven months of the current year (started March 20), indicating a 9.7 percent growth compared to the figure for the same period last year.