TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Project manager of the Samand production plant in Syria Tuesday said that Iran will earn 70 million dollars in the first phase of manufacturing 10,000 Samand sedans in the Arab country.

Mahdi Tashakori added that export of spare parts and car will provide Iran with significant foreign exchange.

With the production of Samand in three working shifts, the value of the outputs will rise to about $210 million, he noted.

Pointing to the capacity of the said factory, he stated that production of the plant will be reach 10,000 and 30,000 units of Samand in one and three working shifts respectively.

Turning to the 60 million dollars investment required to construct the plant in Syria, he added that 40 percent of the investment will be financed by Iran Khodro Company (IKCO).

"IKCO will coordinate the project within the framework of offering technical knowledge and machineries of production line as well as establishment of the project alongside with development of National Samand's brand in Syria and Arab countries' markets." he said.

He also pointed to the time when different lines of the plant will become operational, adding that Samand production in Syria includes three lines of body manufacturing, painting and assembling.

He said that construction operation of the three saloons has been completed, and installing machineries of the assembling line is at the latest stages, predicting that according to the preplanned schedule the lines will become ready for testing by next month.

Machineries and equipment of body manufacturing line have been transferred to Syria, and equipments for painting line are also ready to be shipped, he added.

Iranian and Syrian sides will inaugurate the first phase of the project with the attendance of high ranking officials by the end of 2006.

Turning to the benefits of establishing the plant as the largest and most complete site for manufacturing Samand in a foreign country, he noted that zero-tariff on export commodities among Arab countries will boost competitive potential of the sedan in Arab markets.

He added that the Syrian Samand site will become a great export base for IKCO in the Middle East. "At the time of signing the contract between Iran and Syria, the tariff of import cars to the neighboring Arab country was 250 and 160 percent for cars with 1600cc and lower engines respectively, but the Syrian government had said that the tariffs are to be gradually reduced in a 12 year period."

The Syrian government cut down the amount of tariffs of import sedans from 250 to 60 percent and from 160 to 40 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year, he said.

The official added that tariff of CKD parts have been also declined from 40 to five percent in the said period.

He concluded that Syamko (the joint venture between IKCO and its Syrian partner) plan to exempt Samand purchasers in Syria from paying taxes on the sedan and market them at a suitable price compared to the other imported cars.