TEHRAN -- Iran's polymer output is expected to rise to five million tons in the next five years from the current production level of 800,000 tons, according to Head of the Research and Development Department at National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Abbas Taeb.

The NPC's Public Relations department quoted Taeb as saying that currently, most of Iran's polymer products are domestically marketed but measures should be adopted for finding suitable overseas markets and enhancing domestic sales by raising domestic capital.

Taeb said that his department has launched a project to supply products in line with consumer demand.

he said the NPC intends to set up new units for production of engineering polymers, polyethylene, terephthalete, acetic acid and aromatics and methanol.

Two methanol production units are currently operating in Iranian petrochemical complexes, he noted. He went on to say that methanol III project will become operational in the special petrochemical-economic zone next year, while methanol IV is to be commissioned in Pars Special Economic-Energy Zone in 2004 with a capacity of producing 1,600,000 tons of products a year.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Taeb said his department had conducted 350 research projects until the end of the last Iranian year in March, IRNA reported.