PM Network - June 2016

Three Sectors
to Watch
OIL AND GAS

Not surprisingly, Iran’s large oil and gas deposits attract global energy companies.

■ Italy’s Eni plans to invest US$4 billion in a 36-month project to get an Iranian gas field up to production capacity.

■ The world’s largest chemical company, Germany’s BASF, announced plans to invest US$6 billion in Iran’s petrochemical sector.

■ Another German company, Linde AG, has partnered with Japan’s Mitsui & Co. to invest US$4 billion in petrochemical projects, although schedules have not yet been set.

TRANSPORTATION

From planes to trains to automobiles, Iran’s transportation sector is on the move.

■ The Iranian government has invited Indian organizations to invest US$8 billion in transportation infrastructure projects—including the expansion of Tehran’s international airport and a 220-kilometer (137-mile) railway linking Iran with Central Asia.

■ Siemens signed deals worth US$1.7 billion for projects that will bolster Iran’s railway infrastructure. And Iran and Russia have signed US$40 billion worth of contracts in part focused on railway projects.

■ Automaker Daimler AG is partnering with Iranian companies on a project to start local production of Mercedes-Benz trucks and powertrain components.

MINING

One of Iran’s least-developed sectors, mining promises to pull in plenty of investments. It’s already started.

■ A consortium of Iranian, Omani and Australian organizations won a contract for a US$1 billion zinc production project in an area considered to hold the largest deposit of zinc in the region.

■ India’s national aluminum company, NALCO, is mulling a partnership on a new US$2 billion smelter complex project.

“With lots of
projects waiting
to be started or
to be completed
on time and
on budget,
the concepts
of project
management
and standards
need to be
implemented.”

—Saied Yousefi, PhD, PMP,
University of Tehran,
Tehran, Iran

within schedule and budget. “With lots of projects
waiting to be started or to be completed on time
and on budget, the concepts of project manage-
ment and standards need to be implemented.”
The removal of sanctions will benefit not only
domestic and foreign project sponsors, but also
the country’s own project management culture,
Dr. Yousefi says. As project practitioners from
other countries travel to Iran, they will bring
knowledge of project management standards
and practices with them. And Iranians will wel-
come being part of multinational project teams,
he says.

;e impact of knowledge transfer from foreigners is especially notable given the country’s youthful makeup. ;ree-;fths of Iran’s 80 million residents are under 30 years old.

“If people understand and apply project management when they’re young, they will transfer that knowledge to the next generation,” Dr. Youse; says. “Once the big barrier of the sanctions is removed, you will see a bright future for the application of project management in this country.”