Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 21
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iranian administration owes about $3.6 billion (based on official rate of 24,777 rials per each USD) to contractors, Iranian Vice-Presidency for Strategic Planning and Control said, Mehr news agency reported on Dec. 21.
"The administration's debts to contractors are less than $3.6 billion and other figures which have been reported by the media are not reliable," according to the statement.
On Dec.17, Tasnim news portal quoted secretary of Iranian Confederation of Employers Associations, Mohammad Ataradian as saying that the government owes contractors some $12 billion.
Early in October, Iranian MP Abolfazl Torabi said that government's debts to contractors hit $28 billion.
On August 29, Khabar Online News Portal reported that the Iran Power Generation Transmission & Distribution Management Company (TAVANIR), which is one of the companies of the Energy Ministry owes some $6.5 billion to its contractors.
By adding the Ministry's debts to water contractors, the total debts of Energy Ministry reach $12 billion, according to the report.