National development fund reserves to hit $55b by year end: Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN,April 8(MNA) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that the National Development Fund’s assets would hit $55 billion by the end of this year, which began on March 20. Ahmadinejad who was speaking in Mashhad said some $35 billion had been saved in the National Development Fund over the past two years. Ahmadinejad also claimed that “all the previous administrations spent annual oil revenues and never saved a single dollar.” According to the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015), the National Development Fund was established to channel oil and gas revenues to productive investment for future generations. Iran transfers 20 percent of its oil revenues to National Development Fund. Ahmadinejad said in the year 1389 (March 2010-March 2011) and the year 1390 (March 2011-March 2012) 20 percent of the oil revenues were deposited in the fund. He said his administration plans to save 23 percent of oil revenues in the fund in the current year and 26 percent in the next year, the year that his presidency comes to an end. Ahmadinejad’s administration has been the most fortunate in terms of oil revenues as oil prices started going up in the months before he took over the presidency.