Fincantieri Inks Shipbuilding Deals with Iran
Shipbuilding group Fincantieri said it has signed a number of framework agreements with some primary Iranian companies.
The preliminary understandings were reached in the presence of the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani on an official visit in Italy and are prior to the accomplishment of several contracts worth some hundred million euros and to the potential development of joint activities, the shipbuilder said.
As part of the deals, Fincantieri has reached a cooperation and development agreement with Azim Gostaresh Hormoz Shipbuilding Industry Co (AGH), a new shipyard in the Persian Gulf within the special economic zone, for the construction of new merchant vessels and offshore units both in the field of ship repairs and conversions and in refitting activities of already operating units. AGH is controlled by the larger Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company (ISOICO), which is under the administration of the Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), one of Iran's largest organization involved in the country's development and industrialization process.
The cooperation will affect the development of detailed engineering, optimization of the construction processes, technical consultancy and assistance in all production phases and personnel training both on site and in Italy. The two companies will create specific working groups engaged in activities to establish a synergic cooperation and to develop a business partnership in the area.
Moreover, Fincantieri, through its subsidiary Isotta Fraschini Motori, has signed two further agreements concerning the marine propulsion sector and the one of rail transports. Isotta Fraschini Motori has signed an agreement with Iranian trading company Arka Tejarat Qeshm (ATQ) to set up a joint proposal for the supply to Iranian Governmental User (IGU) of 600 marine engines for smaller vessels. Additionally, in partnership with Titagarh FIREMA ADLER, a company active in the production of rolling stock, it has signed an agreement with Wagon Pars Co. (WPC), Iranian company operating in the railway vehicles construction field, to set up a joint proposal for the supply to the Iranian Railway (RAI) of 70 shunting locomotives engines.
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, stated, "We have once more demonstrated the ability to attract the industrial interest of one of the countries with the highest development potential in the world. The agreement which we have achieved thanks to the company's presence in all the areas of the shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing industry, will surely represent an added value of outmost importance to increase the worldwide dimension and the export share of our group.”