BAIEX 2018 Slated for Feb. 12-26

The Ninth International Exhibition of Bitumen, Asphalt, Insulation and Related Machinery, also known as BAIEX 2018, is slated for Feb. 12-26 at Tehran’s International Permanent Fairground, the event’s website at Ampex.ir reported.

“Iran’s asphalt production exceeds domestic demand by more than 115 million tons,” the chairman of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, Davoud Keshavarzian, had said at BAIEX 2017, IRNA reported.

“We need close to 25 million tons of asphalt per year for road maintenance. The municipalities use a further 10 million tons. This is while 900 asphalt producers in Iran churn out more than 150 million tons every year,” he said.

Keshavarzian added that only 14 out of 62 bitumen plants in Iran meet the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development’s quality standards. 

According to the official, 60% of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development’s budget are spent on renovation of road asphalt every year due to the low quality of domestic products.

Deputy minister of roads and urban development, Kheirollah Khademi, said an estimated 1.2 million tons of bitumen are produced in Iran annually.