China will invest in Iran’s steel industry

Zagros Steel Company in Iran's Western province of Kurdistan plans to produce 2 million tons of steel annually after investment by a leading Chinese company.A Chinese delegation is in talks with Iran's Kurdistan Steel Company's officials to pursue their negotiations, started eight months ago.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Tihan Company said in a meeting with Kurdistan's Governor General in Sanandaj that his company will provide the Zagros Company with modern systems and technologies in a bid to pave the ground for its increased production.


Managing director of Kurdistan Steel Company Hooman Nourizad said that the first and the second phases of the steel plant will be inaugurated within less than a month. The project will create some 10,000 jobs and will produce 1.2 million tons of round bars per year.

The Chinese company will invest 20 percent of the needed capital, the report added.

The Industry, Mine and Trade Ministry has issued the permission for producing up to 90 million tons of steel products in the current calendar year, the deputy minister said.

On April 13, the IRNA news agency quoted Vajihollah Jafari as saying that since 2004 the administration has been significantly supporting investments in the steel sector.

Jafari said on April 9 that crude steel output is projected to reach 55 million tons by 2025.