According to PIN, MD of Iran Natural Gas Storage Company (NGSC), Masoud Samivand, said that value of the contract has been calculated around $44 mln, $40 mln lower than the previous accepted value. 

The French company left the project two years ago after it faced a problem receiving bank guarantees to build the plan.

Many companies including German KBB, a Russian and a Polish companies expressed their interest in taking part in the project.

Sofregas has been in negotiations with the Iranian company since 2001 regarding the construction of a new gas storage facility in the city of Varamin in the south of Tehran.

He added that the plan with a capacity of 540 million cubic meters will be completed by 2011. Iran sits on the world's second-biggest gas reserves after Russia.

The project located in Varamin South of Tehran, has the capacity to reserve 270-540mln cm of natural gas, will be completed in 2011.