IRAN - a growing market with enormous potential

Iran is a key political and economic centre in the region - it has 70 million inhabitants and rich natural resources. Together with the adjacent regions, it comprises a total of 300 million consumers. Geographically Iran occupies a key position at the gateway to Central Asia. Iran's economic potential has improved as a result of its growing importance in the entire region, the high price of oil exports in recent years and continuing strong interest in high-quality capital goods.

Focus on Iran's devolopment:

• Largest internal market in the Middle East
• Improved general economic framework for investors
• A gateway to growing adjacent markets
• Gross domestic product is expanding at a constant rate of over 5% per year and in 2007/2008 even by 7.8%
• Exports 2008: US$ 113.4 billion f.o.b. (+14%)
• Imports 2008: US$ 67.8 billion f.o.b. (+17%)

 
Excellent opportunities for the international construction, mining and natural stone industries:
 
Great opportunities for the international construction industry arise from the strong demand for housing, necessary infrastructure expansion and modernisation, and not least also from the expansion and modernisation of industrial plant and production facilities. The following projects are planned at present:

• Rail link Iran - Azerbaijan, 350 km, construction time 8 years, total investment US$ 600 million.
• Hamedan cement works, total investment US$ 100 million (experts assume Iran needs 30 new cement works)
• Many earthquake-resistant buildings in the next ten years, total investment US$ 140 billion
• Planned up to 2010 - 4.3 million new residential units

These facts indicate positive development of the mining industry:

• Growth in mining sector in 2007/2008 by 25%
• High requirement for technology for exploration and mining of raw materials deposits
• Iran is rich in metallic and non-metallic mineral reserves
• Iran is in the Top 5 for deposits of natural stone
• Large reserves of iron and non-ferrous ores, decorative stone, precious metals etc. from over 2,500 active mines
• Largest zinc reserves worldwide and second highest reserves of copper

Furthermore Iran has a long tradition of working with stone, and extensive use of this material is in evidence at the country's fascinating sites of unique beauty:

• Iran has one of the world's largest natural stone reserves
• Currently an amount of more than 10 million tonnes is being extracted annually from more than 500 quarries
• More than 3,330 stone-working plants