Ardebil, Ardebil Prov, April 30, IRNA - Iranian and North Korean officials signed a letter of agreement here Wednesday night for production of city buses and coaches in Ardebil.

Ardebil's Sabalan Khodrow Mfg. officials and South Koran Maywan Bus Manufacturer Company directors signed the letter of agreement during a ceremony at Ardebil Municipality validity of whose first phase is 12 months and the buses are to be manufactured at the Second Ardebil Industrial City.
 

Ardebil is one of the Azeri inhabited provinces located in the North-West Iran and its center is Ardabil. It is in the north-west of the country, bordering the Republic of Azerbaijan and the provinces of East Azarbaijan, Zanjan, and Gilan. Its center is the city of Ardabil.

The 12 month period is allocated to the construction of the bus and coach manufacturing factory and turning on its production lines and the buses manufactured there would be branded Sabalan-Maywan Daweoo.

Managing Director of Ardebil Sabalan Khodrow-Maywan Company, Saeid Khademi said at the ceremony in which the agreement was signed, "According to the text of the preliminary agreement, the Korean side is committed to complete the production lines of Daewoo city buses and coaches capable of manufacturing 2,000 units annually in accordance with most advanced international standards within 12 months."

He said that the factory is scheduled to be completed in three phases in Ardebil and 60 percent of the vehicles' parts should be manufactured in Iran in the first phase.

Khademi added, "During the first phase 800 city buses and coaches would be manufactured in an 18 month period and delivered to the Iranian Interior Ministry to be used in the country's nationwide transportation network, where the concerned officials would decide.

He said that the investment for putting to use the production lines of the factory is equal to 30 million US dollars, adding, "In accordance with the terms of the signed letter of agreement the engines and gearboxes of the buses and coaches would be manufactured in Korea and the rest of the parts in Iran during the first phase."

The industrialist said that the project would create 2,000 jobs at the factory directly and since the required spare parts, too, would be mainly manufactured at the bus and coach cluster factories at Ardebil, it is expected that the number of new job opportunities would be several times greater during the first and later phases of the project.

Khademi said that the number of buses and coaches needed to be added to the country's transpiration fleet is around 4,000 units currently, reiterating, "During the later phases of the project we are also going to manufacture Daewoo minibuses and vans at the factory."

Ardebil Province Governor General Mansour Haqiqatpour, too, said during the ceremony, "Efforts would be focuses on centralizing the required part manufacturing companies for this project entirely within this province to provide for the creation of greater employment opportunities in Ardebil Province and to arrange for putting to use their production lines simultaneously with this factory's production lines."

Haqiqatpour said that Iran and South Korea have a satisfactory record of cooperation in launching joint industrial projects, adding, "There is a good potential for expanding the dimensions of industrial cooperation between Iran and other countries, and we are going to take full advantage of that potential at the service of provincial development today."

Stressing that the Daewoo city bus and coach manufacturing lines would be put to use by the end of the current Iranian year (ending on March 20th, 2010), he reiterated, "The executive work of the project would begin on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at the Second Ardebil Industrial City."

... Payvand News - 04/30/09 ... --