TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday inaugurated a cement plant in the eastern province of South Khorasan province.

Some 5.2 trillion rials (about $130 million) has been invested in the project, IRNA reported.

The plant has a capacity to produce one million tons of cement per year. Part of the output will be supplied to the domestic market and the rest will be exported to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The project will create direct jobs for almost 350 persons and indirect jobs for more than 2,000 persons in the region.

According to statistics, the country’s annual cement production capacity is around 80 million tons and the capacity is projected to rise to 120 million tons within the next 10 years.

Iran exports cement mainly to Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the UAE, Georgia, Oman, and India.

MG