China to invest in steel production in Iran's province

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Tihan Company said in a meeting with Kurdistan's Governor General in Sanandaj that his company will provide the Zagros Company with modern systems and technologies in a bid to pave the ground for its increased production. He called for the facilitated issuance of the necessary licenses for the implementation of projects in the Zagros Steel Company. Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Commerce Mehdi Qazanfari had earlier this year announced that the country intends to become the largest producer of crude steel in the Middle East. In its latest report, the World Steel Association named Iran the second-largest steel producer in the Middle East after Turkey. Iran's primary steel mills currently are located in the Isfahan and Khuzestan provinces, but the country is working to increase steel hub locations. Earlier this month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran's steel production should reach 48 million tons in the next 4 or 5 years.