Baku, Azerbaijan, March 14
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
There are plans to gradually privatize the Iranian Gas Transmission Company, said the company's managing director Mohammad Ali Emam.
Within the country's 20-year Economic Perspective (until 2025), annually some 10 percent of the company's tasks should be handed over to private sector, Emam said, Iran's IRNA news agency reported March 14.
The company is determined to use all capabilities of the private sector, the official said, adding that so far some tasks regarding the gas transmission were transferred to private sector.
The Iranian Gas Transmission Company is planned to work only as a supervisory body by 2025, Emam said. He further added that the company will hand over the overhauling the oil turbines in the country's south, to the private sector during the next fiscal year.
The company owns over 71 gas pressure stations, which are expected to increase to 136 by 2025.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said in January that the government is planning to take giant steps toward the privatization of much of the economy during the current administration.
The government's main agenda in the post-sanctions era is economic growth, "which will not come by as long as the economy is in the grip of the government," he said.