SEMNAN -- Deputy Oil Minister and Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamdollah Mohammad-Nejad said here on Wednesday that once phase one of the South Pars gas project becomes operational, gas production from the field will rise to 75 million cubic meters a day by March 2003, IRNA reported.

Mohammad-Nejad told ceremonies marking the launching of executive operations on project to supply gas to eight villages in Garmsar that gas production from the field now stands between 23 to 25 million cubic meters and this is expected to rise to 50 million cubic meters this winter and 75 million cubic meters by March 2003.

He said the South Pars gas deposits are largest in the world.

Some 10.5 trillion cubic meters out of 26.5 trillion cubic meters gas reserves of the country lie in South Pars, added the official.

According to the official, the project will be implemented in 12 phases -- of which phases two and three are operational.

Five petrochemical units, two refineries and world's biggest gas pipelines with 56-inch diameter are also to be established, he said.

The official said the Economy Council (EC) has recently set aside $2.144 billion for implementation of gas projects on a buyback basis.

Under the project, he said, a 50-million-cubic-meter refinery will be built in southern Fars Province, 1,050 kilometers of pipelines would be laid for transfer of gas and 135 more cities would be linked to the nationwide gas networks.

He added that the fund will be used to supply 1,500 industrial units and 32 industrial townships with gas. The official said that a credit of $1.3 billion was used to increase the number of power plants connected to the gas network from