A preliminary deal has been signed with German engineering giant Siemens to manufacture equipment for the electricity industry, Arsalan Fathipour, member of Iran Electricity Industry Syndicate said. "Based on an agreement with Siemens, which is expected to be finalized into a contract within two months, a plant will be built for manufacturing power equipment under the license of Siemens," Fathipour was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency on Friday. Products from the joint venture, such as transformers, can be exported besides being used for domestic consumption. "Collaboration with Siemens is aimed at accelerating production, reducing costs and expanding the export of electricity equipment," noted Fathipour, a former lawmaker. The plant will be built in Parand, a town about 65 kilometers southwest of Tehran. The official did not comment on the value of the project.
Siemens has made notable headways in cooperation with Iran after international economic sanctions were eased last year. The Munich-based engineering and manufacturing company has signed a deal to deliver more than 20 F-class turbines and share expertise in turbine manufacturing as part Iran's push to upgrade its aging electricity infrastructure and build power plants with improved efficiency. Siemens said in January that it had received a major order for 12 "compressor trains" for two onshore natural gas processing plants in Iran. The deal was described by Mohsen Nayebzadeh, CEO of Siemens in Iran, as "Siemens' first huge oil and gas order since the easing of sanctions in January 2016".