Islamic Republic of Iran to become steel exporter by 2016

Iran will become one of the world’s main steel exporters by March 2016, Iranian Commerce Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said here on Thursday.
Iran plans to reach the production capacity of 42 million tons per year by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan (March 2016), the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported.

According to Ghazanfari, the nation’s steel production capacity is currently 19 million tons annually.

“There are 106 industrial and mineral projects, worth some $29 billion dollar, underway in different cities of the country which will be gradually inaugurated by the end of the fifth five year development plan,” he added.

Ghazanfari went on to note that 16 of these 106 projects, worth some $2 billion, will come on stream by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2012).

According to the latest report of the World Steel Association, Iran is the second leading steel producer in the Middle East, Press TV reported.

The World Steel Association’s report also shows that Iran’s crude steel production increased to 3.38 million tons from January 1 to March 31.