MNA � Comprehensive steel project should get a nod from the government. It is likely that iron ore would be imported into the country in the next Iranian calendar year in 1397 (to start March 20, 2018).


Comprehensive steel project should get a nod from the government. It is likely that iron ore would be imported into the country in the next Iranian calendar year in 1397 (to start March 20, 2018).

Members of Steel Producers Association placed special emphasis on the approval of Comprehensive Steel Project at the Cabinet of Ministers.

Mahmoud Eslamian Chairman of Iranian Steel Association (ISA) made the above remark in his weekly press briefing and emphasized on the necessity of accelerated approval of the steel plan as a national document at the Cabinet of Ministers and said, �currently, steel production in the country is satisfactory and it is predicted that approx. 21 million tons of steel would be produced by the yearend.�

It is also anticipated that steel production will hit 30 million tons in the coming years, he maintained.

He put the country�s crude steel output in the eight months of current Iranian calendar year in 1396 (from March 21 to Nov. 22) at more than four million tons, expandable to six million tons by the yearend.

Eslamian also put the current steel output in the country at 32.5 million tons and added, �accordingly, about 34 percent of this capacity has remained �unused� and �useless� and for this purpose, economic activists of the country urge Comprehensive Steel Project to be approved by the government as a national document in the Cabinet of Ministers.

Ahmad Khorvash Member of the Board of Directors of Steel Producers Association was the next speaker who added, �at the proposal of economic activists, steel taskforce has been revived appropriately.�

He called on responsible officials in the country to take effective steps in line with materialization of objectives in steel sector of the country.

For his part, Reza Shahrestani, another Board member in Steel Producers Association, said, �over 80 percent of Iranian steel industry is run either by the public or private sector, so that this situation has created critical problem for the private sector of the country.�

Rasoul Khalifeh Soltani Secretary of Iranian Steel Association was the last speaker who urged Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) to be more active in the field of supporting export promotion in the steel industry.

He urged responsible officials of the country to revise all steel projects in the country appropriately within the framework of rules and regulations.