China to invest in Iran’s petrochemical projects
By Sara Rajabova
Chinese companies are planning to finance a number of petrochemical projects in Iran after easing of sanctions under the Geneva deal.
Chinese firms will invest €470 million in the construction of Lordegan Petrochemical Complex, southwest of Iran, Iran's Mehr news agency reported.
They have also pledged to finance Bushehr, Hengam, and Gachsaran petrochemical projects, all located in southwest of the country.
Chinese investors have speeded up the process of financing some Iranian petrochemical projects after Iran and the P5+1 signed an interim agreement over Tehran's nuclear program in Geneva on November last year.
Predictions say, Chinese investors will invest about $7-8 billion in Iran's petrochemical projects.
Several month ago, the National Iranian Petrochemical Company's managing director Abbas Sheri Moqaddam said Iran needs $31 billion to inaugurate 60 semi-finished petrochemical projects.
He said once the projects are started, they will increase the country's annual petrochemical output by 55 million tons, adding that $74 billion is needed to expand the national petrochemical industry in the next 8-10 years.