Iran Top Shipbuilder In Mideast
TEHRAN: For the first time an Iranian shipbuilding company Sadra has received orders from a German company Rickmers-Line to build four 24,000-ton ocean-going liners.
According to Moj news agency, Mohammad Orangian, managing director of Sadra Company for project operation affairs hoped that the deal, signed on July 27, will lead to further orders from European companies, adding that Sadra has completed 30 percent of the preliminary designing.
He estimated the revenues from the project will reach $120 million.
The project would take 36 months and the first ocean liner would be completed in 2007, he stated.
If the project is completed on time, he said the German company will order four more ocean liners.
Rickmers-Line provides a worldwide network of liner services for the transportation of break-bulk, project cargo and heavy lifts.
Noting the low prices of Chinese ships, Orangian said that the main rivals of Sadra Company were Chinese and Korean shipbuilders.
Recently, an expert team was dispatched to Venezuela to study the conclusion of a shipbuilding contract, he stated.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) declared Iran as the top shipbuilding nation in the Middle East. Iran received 27 orders until the end of October 2005.
According to Seana news agency, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt with 10 and 8 orders ranked second and third in the Middle East.
The UNCTAD announced that South Korea, Japan and China are among the largest shipbuilding countries in the world.
© Iran Daily 2005
