We need to attract foreign investment: Iranian deputy trade min.

On December 10, SMT, a daily, ran a brief report about the comments of Deputy Trade Minister and Chairman of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Mehdi Karbasian about the necessity of the inflow of foreign investment. He also offered some explanations about the terms of a June MoU between Iran and Kuwait. What appears below is a partial translation of what he had to say:

“Domestic sources for investment are not enough if Iran is going to fulfill the objectives of the 20-year Economic Outlook Plan [which is due 2025] and consolidate its position as the leading economic power in the region. Iran is in strong need of foreign investment along with improved productivity,” said the deputy minister.

“Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in June, 2014 between Iran’s IMIDRO and Kuwait Steel Company, the two sides agreed to jointly build a steel mill in the Persian Gulf Special Mineral Industry Zone (Bandar Abbas),” the chairman of IMIDRO added.

“The expanse of land where the steel plant will be constructed has been chosen and is under preparation for the joint project. In late November a delegation representing Kuwait Steel Company and a number of investors travelled to Bandar Abbas [in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan]. That was followed by a decision as to where the steel plant was to be built. The Persian Gulf Special Mineral Industry Zone is now getting the lot prepared,” he further said.

Elaborating on the details of the joint construction project Karbasian said, “Under the MoU, a direct reduced iron (DRI) facility with the capacity of 1.6 million tons will be constructed in the first phase of the joint project. The second stage includes the construction of a steel mill with the capacity of 1 million tons. In the third phase, a rolling mill with a capacity of one million tons will be set up and a pelletizing plant with the capacity of five million tons will mark the final stage of the joint venture.”