Azerbaijan, Baku, Mar. 6 / Trend F.Milad /
Energy ministry will use the method of selling power plants to domestic banks in a bid to settle its dues to contractors, Mehr news agency quoted Iranian energy minister Majid Namjou as saying on Tuesday.
Namjou said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has instructed the energy ministry to sell power plants in order to pay outstanding dues of minor contractors, which amount to some 13 trillion rials (around $1 billion).
Khabaronline Persian website reported on March 2 that the Iranian energy ministry owes some 70 trillion rials (about $5.7 billion) to its contractors in water and power sector.
The powers sector and the water sector contractors claim more than 50 trillion rials and 15 trillion rials respectively, the report added.
The energy ministry will provide its creditors with unsold participation bonds which have recently been issued to finance domestic water and power projects, ISNA news agency reported on February 27.
The ministry issued some 30 trillion rials (about $2.5 billion) in bonds in the current calendar year, which started on March 21, 2011, but the public did not welcome the bonds due to low profit, Energy Minister Majid Namjou told ISNA news agency.