Delegations from Iran and Tajikistan met in Tehran for talks about the financial issues surrounding Sangtudeh-2 hydroelectric power plant, a project carried out by Iran in Tajikistan.
The 13th meeting of Iran-Tajikistan Joint Commission of Economic Cooperation opened in Tehran on Monday, attended by Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian and Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources Usmonali Usmonzoda, reported Tasnim News Agency.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting, the Tajik minister said one of the most successful projects that Iranian companies have carried out in Tajikistan in recent years has been the construction of Sangtudeh-2 hydroelectric power plant.
Usmonzoda said the 220-megawatt power plant has come on stream and plays a major role in supplying the Central Asian country’s power demands in the wintertime.
He also noted that a series of financial issues relating to the power plant project and the purchase of electricity by Tajikistan was discussed in the joint commission of economic cooperation on Monday.
Praising Iranian companies for involvement in multiple projects in Tajikistan, Usmonzoda said Iran has also embarked on a project to construct a hydroelectric power plant at Tajikistan’s Rogun Dam.
In June, the top diplomats of Iran and Tajikistan met in Tehran to explore avenues for the enhancement of relations between the two countries in various fields.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his visiting Tajik counterpart Sirodjidin Mukhriddin weighed plans to broaden the political and parliamentary cooperation between the two nations, strengthen friendship groups, enhance economic interaction in the water, electricity and transportation sectors, hold political and consular consultations, expand cultural and international cooperation within the framework of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and combat extremism and terrorism.

 

A report shows Iranians are making heavy investments in the copper industry to make it more competitive at the global level.
IRNA said in a report that more than $3 billion will be invested in various copper industry projects across the country in the next five years, allowing the country to have a better share of an international market that is facing a surging demand for the precious metal.
The report quoted the head of IMIDRO, Iran’s largest metals and mining sector group, as saying that the country is aiming to increase both the output and the resource discovery activity in the copper sector.
Khodadad Gharibpour said more than $120 million was spent on a major project finished earlier this year to produce 610,000 tons of sulfuric acid, a key ingredient and by-product in copper production, each year.
Gharibpour said activity was surging at three main copper hubs in southeastern and northwestern Iran.
Head of National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO) also said that information from main production and distribution sites in Iran’s copper industry will soon be incorporated into a centralized system to allow the government and investors to have a transparent view of the situation in smelters, mines, refineries, and storage houses.
Ardeshir Sa’d-Mohammadi said the integrated system will be ready for use until March next year, enabling the NICICO to better introduce opportunities for investment in the copper sector to investors inside and outside of Iran.
Iran’s metals sector has witnessed a rapid expansion over the past two years as the government seeks to offset the impacts of a series of American sanctions on revenues that were once derived from oil.
The United States has targeted Iran’s trade of metals with a series of bans since May this year although experts believe the sanctions will fail to affect the current boom in production and exports of various metals from the country.

Iran is set to overtake Russia this year as the largest importer of Indian tea, despite American sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Indian tea exports to Iran hit a record high of 43.76 million kilos (mkg) this year till September, earning India a sum of $172.84 million, business-standard.com reported on Monday.
“This trade agreement has not only helped India sustain the market but expand it as well. While exports from other countries faced uncertainty, Indian exporters were able to eat into the competition and gain market share,” a planter, who directly exports bulk tea to Iran, said.
Between January and October, Ceylonese tea shipments to Iran dipped by 9.52 percent to 18.27 mkg.
Data sourced from the India Tea Board showed that between January and September, export of tea to Iran rose by 115.67 percent to touch 43.76 mkg, while the income soared by 133.38 percent at $172.84 million.
In comparison, exports to Russia and other CIS countries were down 11.46 percent, to 41.72 mkg and forex inflow shrank by 12.99 percent, to $97.81 million.
Historically, Russia was the largest importer of Indian tea, and exports to Russia and CIS taken together, usually account for 25-30 percent of total Indian tea exports.
Till September this year, however, exports to Russia and CIS made up 22.85 percent, while Iranian imports accounted for 23.97 percent of the total 182.52 mkg dispatched.
Earnings from Iran far outpace the contribution from Russia and CIS. Iran accounted for 29.19 percent of the Indian tea trade in terms of value while Russia accounted for 16.52 percent in terms of trade value.
Analyzing the current trade scenario, exporters are of the view that Iran will top the chart this year emerging as the top tea exporting destination for India and Russia will finish second in the run.
“What is interesting to note here is the fact that export prices have also risen”, A.K. Ray, the deputy chairman at the India Tea Board said.
 

The first privately-owned port facility on Iran’s Caspian Sea shores is to open after nearly 15 years of planning and construction, said Allahyar Asadi, who heads Ports and Maritime Organization of Golestan Province.
The official said that construction of two main breakwaters at Khajeh Nafas Port was nearing its final stages, allowing officials to inaugurate the facility in the near future, Press TV reported.
He said that once open, the port would significantly boost maritime transportation alongside the eastern coast of the sea while it would lead to a major economic boom in the Golestan region.
Most of Iran’s trade through the Caspian Sea is processed via the western and central coasts of the enclosed body of water and in the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran.
Golestan, which borders Turkmenistan, is a main agriculture hub in the region and a key gateway to Central Asian countries.
Planning Khajeh Nafas began in 2005 when government authorities sought to create more jobs in the region through more exchanges with Russia and also Kazakhstan, a country which is becoming a transit route for Chinese cargoes seeking to reach Europe.
Golestan Governor Hadi Haqshenas told IRNA on Sunday that Khajeh Nafas will soon begin processing large cargoes with a first ship carrying timber due to arrive at the port in the near future.
Haqshenas said the private owner of the port had made an initial investment of around $9 million for the 176-hectare port, which is located around 10 kilometers from the city of Bandar Torkaman and 50 kilometers from the provincial capital of Gorgan.
He said the port would be capable of accommodating ships with a maximum of 5,000 tons of cargo in its first phase of operation.

Iranian authorities said air taxis will be allowed for the first time in the country as demand for short-haul, on-demand services has increased.
An official in Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said that several companies had obtained initial permits for launching air taxi services across the country, Press TV reported.
Morteza Dehqan said that regulations over the issue were eased to allow the import and operation of commercial aircraft capable of carrying 10 to 15 passengers.
He said the new laws are also meant to prevent major Iranian airlines and aviation companies from creating a monopoly in the provision of air taxi services.
“If someone wants to launch a company solely for air taxis, he would not need to have a fixed capital, technical and commercial structures and other requirements like a full-service airline,” Dehghan said.
The official rejected claims that the launch of air taxi services in Iran would face serious difficulties because of the sanctions imposed on the country.
“There is no problem for the import of various aircraft including private jets,” he said, adding, “Companies and individuals would import the aircraft under any circumstances and even in the current difficult circumstances.”
The launch of air taxi service comes as many Iranian airports are currently running at low capacity.
Officials say more than 90 percent of domestic flights are processed via 15 major airports and 60 more airports are operating at super-low capacity.
The new services could also be seen as a bid to offset the impacts of American sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry as Washington keeps preventing major global plane manufacturers from delivering aircraft ordered by Iran over the past few years.

A sum of $784.6 million of foreign finance was directly invested in 55 projects in Iran during March 21-October 22, reported Fars News Agency.