State-owned National Petrochemical Company (NPC), a subsidiary to the Iranian Petroleum Ministry, plans to build a gas-to-propylene (GTP) plant through joint investment with a European bank, a senior official said in a report.

The proposed plant will possess an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes, Abbas Sha'ri-Moqaddam managing director of NPC, was quoted as saying in an Iran Daily report, citing Shana.

Based on plans, he added, that the pilot GTP plant of the Petrochemical Research and Technology Company will soon turn into a bigger plant with annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes.

Noting that the Oil Ministry has issued permits for the new GTP plant, Sha'ri-Moqaddam added that funds for implementing the project will be provided by NPC along with a European bank, which will provide the foreign exchange for establishing the plant.

He also said that Iran's petrochemical sector is ready to attract further foreign investment once the sanctions are lifted as per the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany).
 
According to JCPOA, sanctions against Iran's economic sectors, including oil and gas industry, will be lifted in return for certain restrictions on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Sha'ri-Moqaddam noted that petrochemical industry needs huge investments and technology transfer in view of the special nature of its activities, added the report.