Page 44 - bne IntelliNews Country Report: Iran Dec17

adding that French enterprises were looking to move ahead with several Iranian infrastructure projects. Earlier this year, state-owned Engie began consultations on overhauling Tehran’s water system, which is some 40 years old and in dire need of a complete overhaul. One statistic released by the company earlier this year during a business meeting in Tehran was that at least 40% of the country’s drinking water is lost due to poorly maintained infrastructure. Earlier this year, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) agreed to fund some $90mn for the upgrading of Tehran’s sewage system, which up until 2013 did not exist in any meaningful way.
9.1.8 Renewable energy sector news
A further two solar power generation and photovoltaic production deals have been signed over the past few days in Iran, Islamic Republic News Agency wrote on October 25. Iranian companies have signed nearly a dozen such deals in recent weeks, with the government gives away thousands of square kilometres of land for the development of the solar power industry and offering a 13-year tax exemption to companies working in the sector. The latest deal was signed by South Africa’s Phelan Energy Group on October 24. It will see the Cape Town-based firm invest €14mn in building a 10-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in the town of Khusf, in South Khorasan province. It intends to expand operations in Iran, with ambitions to build solar energy plants with a combined capacity of 200MW in the next few years. Phelan has existing solar plants in several locations in sub-Saharan Africa and India, according to its website. The South African deal came a day after China’s Znshine PV Tech signed a deal with the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) to create a new photovoltaic production plant. According to the details of that deal, the Chinese will invest €20mn in constructing the plant and also create a 200MW solar plant. The two fresh deals follow Norway’s Saga Energy group’s mid-October deal worth €2.5bn with Iran’s Amin Energy Developers to build a solar power plant in a desert region of central Iran. Saga is the second Oslo-based firm in a matter of weeks to enter the Iranian solar energy market. Its main competitor Scatec Solar arrived first in late September, looking to build a 120MW solar power plant costing around $125mn, and possibly a 500MW plant after that. Iran currently draws roughly 53MW of power from solar generation, energy ministry data shows. It is attempting to add 932MW in the next few years thanks to deals signed already.
Iranian politicians arrived in Russia on October 17 to meet Russian counterparts from the State Duma Committee of Energy to discuss future energy cooperation, according to Tasnim News Agency . Both countries are increasingly cooperating on energy projects with Moscow having previously agreed to fund and develop a thermal energy plant on Iran’s Persian Gulf coast. The bilateral meeting came a day after Iran’s Central Bank (CBI) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Export Insurance Agency of Russia (EXIAR) to boost trade. During the energy meeting in Moscow, the Iranians led by Fereydoun Hassanvand MP met with the chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee of Energy of the Federal Assembly, Pavel Zavalny, to discuss the ongoing development of the Bushehr nuclear power plant and other projects which are yet to be disclosed publicly. The two sides also agreed to create a joint working group in a bid to enhance their cooperation in energy investment.
44 IRAN Country Report November 2017 www.intellinews.com