Iran earmarks $18b for 29 petrochemical plans

TEHRAN, Nov. 29(MNA)--Iran has allocated $4 billion to implement 13 petrochemical projects and opened $14 billion credit line for 16 other projects, the National Petrochemical Company’s managing director announced. “Totally, 69 petrochemical projects should be completed according to the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015),” he said, adding that $4 billion has been allocated from the National Development Fund to 13 projects. The National Development Fund's reserves stand at $24.4 billion and at least 20 percent of this sum will be allocated to promoting foreign investment, according to Iran's Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Shamseddin Hosseini. The NPC director had previously told that Iran should attract some 6 billion dollars annually to complete 69 petrochemical projects which are underway in the country. The country has prepared plans to gain the first rank in the region in terms of the value of petrochemical products, Bayat said. Iran exported over $8 billion worth of petrochemical products in the first seven months of the current calendar year (began on March 21, 2011), and planned to increase the exports to $12 billion by the end of the year. The country exported some 10.5 million tons of petrochemicals to 60 countries in the mentioned period of time, he told . The exports are respectively 11 percent and 34 percent higher than the last year’s figures in terms of weight and value, Bayat added. Bayat said in July that Iran produced more than 40 million tons of petrochemical goods in the last Iranian calendar year. The country also exported 18 million tons of petrochemical products worth $11.6 billion last year, showing a 26-percent increase compared to two years ago, he added.