TEHRAN - Eight fuel conservation projects, valued at over $23 billion, have been ratified to be conducted in Iran, Nosratollah Seyfi, the managing director of Iranian Fuel Conservation Company (IFCO), told the Tehran Times in an exclusive interview.

The ground is laid for the implementation of projects which have been drawn up for fuel conservation in the country, he added.

He referred to the renovation of railway, bus and taxi fleets, as well as the standardization of heating systems in buildings as some of these projects.

The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) is in charge of implementing two out of the eight mentioned projects and the IFCO is tasked with conducting the other six ones, Seyfi further explained.

“We hope that all necessities for the implementation of these projects will be provided as soon as possible,” he stated.

Referring to the preliminary measures taken by the IFCO for implementing the fuel-saving projects, the managing director of company said: “We have provided required software and drafted the related contracts. We have also drawn up the measurement and verification system which is the main system to confirm the fuel conservation and also to measure the worth of saving.”

“In fact, managerial and supervisory necessities are already provided and we are just waiting for making investment both by domestic and foreign resources,” he added.

*** Foreign companies interested in Iran’s fuel saving projects

The official went on to say: “We have also negotiated with some foreign countries for attracting the required investment. They are interested in the issue. Because it is not only an issue of fuel saving, it also contributes to protection of the environment.”

He named Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Turkey as some countries with them Iran has negotiated in this regard.

On August 22, Seyfi said: “Negotiations have been made with foreign firms to invest in and transfer technology to the country’s fuel conservation projects in construction, transportation, and industry sectors. The foreigners have proposed their plans.”

Asked about the required amount of investment in the fuel conservation sector, the official replied that by the next five years, more than $190 billion investment will be needed in this sector. 

According to Seyfi, manufacturing some relevant equipment demands cutting-edge technology, which is beyond the country’s current capacity. 

*** Development of railway for materializing fuel conservation

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official referred to renovation and development of the national railway fleet with an eye to materializing the objective of fuel conservation in the country.

He said: “In the past [Iranian calendar] year, Iranian Oil Ministry allocated $7.5 billion to help development of the national railway network. The fund is due to be secured through optimizing the fuel consumption in the country.”

Iranian railway fleet is old and needs to be renovated, Seyfi complained and said that this fund could help renovate and develop the railway fleet.

It could also boost rail transportation in the country, he added.

As fuel consumption in rail transportation is less than road transportation by five folds, the more we could develop the railway network, the more fuel conservation we will achieve, the official highlighted.

*** Iran to reduce energy intensity by 50% within 5 years

Iran has planned to reduce energy intensity by 50 percent by the Iranian calendar year 1400 (March 2021-March 2022), Seyfi said in May. 

The country put the target in the Iranian calendar year 1389 (March 2010-March 2011), in line with implementation of the general policies of improving consumption patterns ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, he stated. 

Energy intensity is a measure of the energy efficiency of a nation’s economy. It is calculated as units of energy per unit of growth domestic product (GDP).