(Platts) -- The Iranian government is in talks with investors across Asia to establish petrochemical joint ventures in the southeastern port city of Chabahar, a source close to the matter said Sunday. "The Iran government wants to develop Chabahar on the lines of Pars special economic zone in Assaluyeh," the source said. "The plan is to establish methanol, urea and olefins projects in Chabahar in association with foreign partners." The government has already marked a free trade zone in the Chabar for establishing the petrochemical plants, the source said, adding that no major plants are currently located in that city.
At the 9th Iran Petrochemical Forum in Tehran in May, the country's deputy petroleum minister Abdolhossein Bayat had said that petrochemical projects to be located in Chabahar will be given a tax holiday of 15 years.
The establishment of the projects in Chabahar is in line with Iran's plan for the port city to achieve a petrochemical production capacity of 15 million mt/year over the next five years, the source said. This will require investments totaling $20 billion, he added.