Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep. 9/ Trend, R. Zamanov
Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Ahmad Sadeghi harshly criticized the country's energy minister over his recent comments.
Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said in a televised interview that the current administration has annulled a company transfer deal as part of the Gorgan-Bojnourd railway project's contract.
"The project's cost was estimated at 4 trillion rials. Based on the signed deal, a Chinese firm was supposed to finance 85 per cent of the amount, while the roads ministry was supposed to pay the other 15 per cent," he said, the Mehr News Agency reported.
"The previous administration decided to transfer the shares of one the ministry's subsidiaries to pay for the mentioned 15 per cent. The value of the shares was around 6 trillion rials and the transfer would totally cost 12.6 trillion rials," Chitchian explained, adding that the current administration has annulled the decision and plans to pay the money in another way.
"The value of the shares which were supposed to be transferred were 21 times more than the ministry's share of the project and 3 times more than the project's total cost," he concluded.
But Ahmad Sadeghi said that by annulling an order, the current government should not accuse the previous administration of corruption.
"Based on the previous administration's order, the Astan Quds Razavi was supposed to pay the 15 per cent share of the ministry in the project in exchange for 45 per cent of the shares of Mahab Qods Company," he explained.
"The Roads and Urban Development ministry has signed 18 finance contracts for different projects, so if the mentioned contract is corrupt, the other 18 projects should be considered as corruption, as well," Sadeghi said, without giving an explanation for Chitchian's claims about the value differences.