Samand Production Line Comes on Stream
Samand has all the technical specifications of similar foreign cars, plus other specific characteristics like the Farsi-speaking alarm system and the central control.
At least 80,000 new job opportunities have been created through planning and constructing the equipment, tools and machinery of the production line.
Almost 30 million rials was invested to create each new job.
One trillion rials and 45 million dollars of foreign exchange has been invested in the Samand production line.
According to the schedule, Samand production in the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2001) is 2,800 cars and is projected to rise to 43,000 cars per year next year, 80,000 the year after, and 100,000 in the future.
President Khatami said that privatization in Iran has been attended to by all Iranian governments since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and efforts have even been made in this connection.
He said that however, bolder and firmer steps should be taken in this respect.
The president called on the nation to stand up to all the ballyhoo against privatization.
"Experience has showed that the public sector is less capable than the private sector; all-out presence of the public sector in competition -- the preconditions for investment and production -- should be removed," announced the president.
He said his government strives for easing government responsibilities and attempts to promote privatization.
The president called for an end to the issuance of mere directives for privatization and instead translating words into action.
The chief executive also called for job and investment security both for those generating capital inside the country and for foreign entrepreneurs.
President Khatami also called for adoption of befitting monetary and fiscal policies to facilitate production.
Elsewhere in his speech, President Khatami called for investment in the industry sector and said it is a requisite for any country which wants to promote its resolve and attain a self-reliant economy.
He called for investment in the production sector, industry sector in particular, to address the pressing need of the society.
He said transparency in compilation and implementation of a national industrial strategy is essential to overcome the problem.
He also called for attaining modern and sophisticated technology to compensate for the country's backwardness.
Concluding his remarks, President Khatami referred to production of Samand' cars as a major project and a great development in national industry and said 85 percent of the car's parts have been produced in the country.
He called for sound competition in the industry sector and qualitative growth in domestic industrial products.
Samand has been manufactured by Iran Khodro Corporation which will raise its output to 100,000 cars a year by the next two years.
Officials in charge believe that the car is expected to earn dlrs five billion value-added for the country in a five-year period.
They believe the project has cost rls 1,000 billion plus an investment of dlrs 45 million.