Mohammad-Reza Rezaei added 3,500 job opportunities would be directly and indirectly created when the company became operational.

He said 500 people would be hired by the company and 3,000 would get involved in the downstream industries.

The executive operations of Kermanshah Polymer Company, the third petrochemical plant in Kermanshah, started in 2005 and had so far made 46 percent physical progress, added Rezaei.

According to the forecast, said the official, Kermanshah Polymer Company would play an effective role in creating job opportunities in the region and would be inaugurated in 2009.

“The company is under construction in a plot of land with a 55 hectare area in Hersin,” said the managing director, calling for provincial financial aid.

Based on the program, the company is to produce 300 thousand tons of polyethylene per annum.

Iran is implementing 24 petrochemical projects in the Fourth Five-Year Socioeconomic Development Plan (2005-2010).

Up to now, the projects have totally made 29.5 percent physical progress and are to produce 22.798 million tons of petrochemicals per annum.

When the projects come on stream, they are expected to earn Iran 7.78 million dollars annually.

The managing director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC) said Iran would make a 12.3 billion dollar investment in the sector in the Fifth Five-Year Socioeconomic Development Plan (2010-2015).

Gholam-Hossein Nejabat said his company would invest the huge sum in 27 petrochemical projects during the Fifth Plan, out of which 9.2 billion dollars would be funded by hard currencies.

“The investment helps the sector increase the petrochemical out by 33.7 million tons during the plan,” predicted the official.

Nejabat reiterated 24 petrochemical projects with a 14.8 billion dollar fund had been included in the Fourth Plan, with some becoming operational.

The NPC head said 13 petrochemical projects would become operational in the current year, adding three of them were ready for inauguration.

“At present, Iran accounts for 12 percent of the Middle East’s petrochemical output, valued at 25 billion dollars, and the share will touch 34 percent by the end of 20-year Outlook Plan, 2015,” said Nejabat.

“The country’s world share is 0.9 percent, which is predicted to reach 6.3 percent by 2015.