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 Today a large number of petrochemical plants as well as gas and oil installations mainly
designed and built with the active participation of Iranian engineers are operating in
various parts of the country, producing a wide variety of products. A notable example is
Kangan Natural Gas Project, with a daily output of 70 million cubic meters. Iran’s
Total output of petrochemicals currently stands at nearly 17 million tones, but is
projected to reach 30 million tones within the next decade or so. Iran’s oil
installations and facilities comprise over 80 units, including refineries, processing
plants, gas treatment plants , pumping stations, plus 4500 km of main gas and oil
pipelines and 1750 wells.
Whatever the task, people are the decisive factor. Although Iran is one of the world’s richest
countries in terms of mineral resources, its most natural and valuable asset is
undoubtedly its people. Today Iran has at its disposal a large pool of skilled , efficient
engineers capable of designing , building and managing projects of all sizes and
complexities. In fact, Iran ranks tenth among FIDIC member countries in terms of expert
manpower . According to recent estimates, Iran’s specialized workforce will exceed 15
million within the next two decades. The number of engineers and technicians who graduate
each year from institutions of higher education is about 17000. However, despite their
considerable technical know-how- which is unmatched in the region- Iranian engineers’
and managers’ average wages are far bellow those in such countries as Pakistan and
Turkey. According to figures released by the International Federation of Consulting
Engineers (FIDIC) , the monthly salary of an Iranian project manager is $2100 as compared
with $8000 for Turkey and $5000 for Pakistan.
In line with Iran’s strategic focus on increasing its non-oil exports and faced with a
vast volume of excess resources- both material and human- Iranian consulting and
contracting firms are increasingly looking beyond their borders to expand the scope of
their operations. Presently, they are executing numerous projects including pipelines,
industrial plants, irrigation and drainage networks, water and sewage treatment plants in
the CIS, North Africa, Pakistan, and a number of other countries. While delivering works
of the highest quality, Iranian companies offer prices which are substantially less than
their international competitors. According to figures published by the Plan and Budget
Organization, Iranian engineering firms possess the resources to export over seven billion
dollars worth of technical and engineering services annually. Between 1994 and 1998,
Iranian firms took part in 225 international tenders valued at over seven billion dollars,
winning a total of 66 contracts worth over one billion dollars. This meant a 30% success
rate which is an impressive figure by any standard.
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