TEHRAN – Iranian deputy industry, mining, and trade minister for industry affairs says the ministry has defined 40 trillion rials (about $952 million) worth of projects to be awarded to the knowledge-based companies for indigenization of auto industry equipment and machinery.

According to Mehdi Sadeghi Niaraki, aimed at boosting the domestic production of auto parts and equipment, these projects are defined to be implemented by companies and institutes that are on the cutting edge of knowledge and technology.

The mentioned companies and institutes are active in various fields including indigenization of high-tech auto parts and systems, especially turbocharging systems, auto electronic control units (ECU), some special sensors, etc., Niaraki told IRNA on Tuesday.

“In line with the “surge in the production” movement, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade is trying to use all the existing capacities in the country.”

In this regard, the industry ministry has been cooperating with parts manufacturing community and organizations, leading production units, knowledge-based companies, the Ministry of Defense, and its subsidiaries, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Command, the official stressed.

According to the deputy minister, in the previous Iranian calendar year, €300 million worth of projects were defined for indigenization of auto industry parts and equipment, of which so far €60 million have been completed and the output products have reached mass production and are being distributed in the market.

The implementation of the remaining of these projects takes time and they must go through the stages of design, development, prototype production, initial product testing, and finally mass production, he added.

Back in July, Niaraki had announced that deals worth €277 million were signed between auto part manufacturers and carmakers in the previous year (ended on March 19) through three domestic production promotion desks.

In early April, Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry outlined its programs for supporting the domestic production in the current Iranian year.

The seven main axes of the ministry’s plan for the surge in production are going to be pursued under 40 major programs.

Developing technology and promoting knowledge-based industries, development of domestic production in line with the Leader’s stresses on surge in production, managing imports and development of non-oil exports, improving the business environment, development of financing and investment and finally development of logistics were reported to be the seven major axes of the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry’s works in the current year.

EF/MA