Azerbaijan, Baku, April 24/Trend M. Moezzi
Iran's manufacturing sector got about $2.5 billion in subsidies in the first phase of the government's targeted subsidies program, minister of industry said, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports.
More than $815 billion in the facilities paid the energy bills for manufacturing units, Mehdi Ghazanfari, Iran's Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade, said. Slightly more than $326 million was given as grants for units without gas service who use fuel oil while the cost of some energy carriers was discounted for industrial manufacturers.
The government has used preferential and discount prices, subsidies to pay bills, energy costs and some grants to help industries, mining and trade when the first phase of the subsidy reform plan was implemented.
Ghazanfari cited the figures at a meeting held to discuss the implementation of the second phase of the program.
The subsidy program pays out $37 to Iranians while eliminating subsidies for energy carriers and some commodities. The program, which was supposed to pay for itself, has a $16 billion deficit. Recently, the Iranian government transferred about $23, to Iranians' accounts for the second phase of the program without approval from the Majlis (parliament).