Zanjan Petrochemical Complex’s registered capital has experienced a sixfold increase in the past three years, which can contribute to Zanjan Province’s growth in acquiring modern technologies, the National Petrochemical Company’s director for projects said.
“In addition to the plant’s increased capital, the participation of a major shareholder in the project and using the finances of the National Development Fund of Iran hold out hope of launching the complex,” Ali Mohammad Bosaqzadeh was also quoted as saying by NIPNA on Tuesday.
Following its privatization, Zanjan Petrochemical Complex raised its registered capital from 560 billion rials ($13.3 million) to 3.5 trillion rials ($83.3 million) in two stages, which authorizes the plan to make use of NDFI’s funds.
The plant, with a progress rate of 26%, has targeted the production of 3,000 tons of urea and 2,050 tons of ammonia per day upon its completion.
“The experience of Lordegan Petrochemical Plant, which is under construction in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Province and is technically very similar to Zanjan project, will definitely help expedite the venture,” Bosaqzadeh said.
According to the official, following the launch of petrochemical plants in the provinces of Kurdestan and West Azarbaijan, other sectors such as services have observed growth, which may also take place in Zanjan after the petrochem complex comes on stream.
Forex Revenues
“The best way to generate foreign exchange revenues is by attracting as much investment as possible for petrochemical initiatives,” Asadollah Qarekhani, rapporteur of Majlis Energy Commission, said.
Qarekhani added that Iranian petrochemical products have achieved popularity in the global markets due to the country’s abundant reserves of raw materials and feedstock.
The parliamentarian noted that to sustain the current levels of exports, Iran should develop both the industry’s upstream and downstream sectors.
Qarekhani underlined that by raising petrochemical exports, not only will non-oil products’ share increase, but also a substantial amount of forex revenues will be generated.
“Iran’s target markets for its petrochemical products should not be limited to a few countries, but all states can be Iran’s potential customers,” he said.
The country's nominal output capacity stands at 62 million tons of petrochemicals per year, while actual production is expected to reach about 60 million tons by March 2018.
NPC hopes to lift nominal output capacity to more than 120 million tons per annum by 2022, the last year of Iran's Sixth Five-Year Development Plan.
According to experts, preparing the ground to achieve such a goal requires the attraction of $77 billion of finance by 2020.
According to Marzieh Shahdaei, NPC's former managing director, Iran has developed 30 new petrochemical projects in the post-sanctions period, which have been completed or are still underway.
