MNA � Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), and National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) have signed a contract to build and repair ships.


Speaking at the contract-signing ceremony, Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh pointed to the significance of establishing a joint firm for building and repairing ships asserting �the partnership holds importance in view of production and design capabilities of Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company (ISOICO) as well as that the two domestic customers are NITC and IRISL.�

The official, while describing the cooperation as a win-win deal as it fulfills interests of both manufacturer and consumer, expressed hope that the agreement will mark a model for further collaborations.

�ISOICO and SADRA Iran Marine Industrial Company were inactive when the incumbent government took office but now the barriers to their activity have been removed thanks to collective effort of officials,� Nematzadeh underlined.

Later, Managing Director of Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) Mansour Moazemi voiced satisfaction with the turn from spirit of confrontation to that of engagement saying �on the one hand, the partnership can be viewed as a trilateral one since IDRO, IRISL and NITC are involved in the contract and on the other hand, two foreign companies are also shareholders in the project aiming to strengthen domestic capabilities.�

Also, Managing Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) Mohammad Saeidi said the deal had to be signed two decades earlier and, presently, the Iranian nation are no longer after importing industries and technologies from abroad.

He also urged the industry to be enabled and active stressing that academic centers and knowledge-based firms need to form the foundation of shipbuilding industry.

Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) Sirus Kian Ersi, for his part, said the country was moving towards self-sufficiency and increased job creation expressing hope that similar steps will be taken in other sectors for the country to become more dynamic.

It is worth mentioning that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IDRO, IRISL and NITC aims to build and repair ships through indigenous partners.