Financial Tribune - While many road construction projects are on hold waiting for free asphalt (bitumen) from the government, a great deal of tar produced inside the country is exported, the people’s representative from Falavarjan County (Isfahan) in the Majlis said.

“Reports say we need 4 million tons of asphalt a year for domestic use and exporting this item does not help or solve problems,” Fars News Agency quoted Nasser Mousavi Largani as saying.

According to the budget for the current fiscal dyear, the government is obliged to allocate $500 million in tar to road-building projects.