The number of people traveling by air has witnessed a 93-percent growth in the year to March against the figure for the year to March 2007, said head of the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CAOIRI) on the sidelines of the Fourth Aviation Safety Meeting in Tehran on Saturday.
This indicates greater security in flights, Hossein Khanlari said noting that aviation safety management terminal has been set up in CAOIRI in an effort to help ensure flight safety and security.
Turning to the delay in information dissemination on air disasters, he said that his organization is obliged to disseminate news and expected the public to be patient while probes are completed, IRIB reported.
On organizing the cargo clearance section of Imam Khomeini International Airport, he said that the problem has been temporarily solved. The State Airports Company and Customs Administration have begun constructing the cargo niche, he added.
In related news, managing director of SAC said that once negotiations are finalized, the first domestic airport would be ceded to the private sector.
“Negotiations are underway on privatization of one of the airports,“ explained Asghar Ketabchi.
He elaborated that all sections of the airport excluding flight control and security affairs would be turned over to the private sector.
The initiative aims to use the potentials of the private sector to upgrade the quality of the airport. If the initiative is successful, other airports will also be privatized, he underlined.
Meanwhile, head of SAC Public Relations Office, Yadollah Aqaie told Iran Daily that about 54 airports are currently under the supervision of SAC. He did not name the airport designated for privatization.

Over 85 percent of Iran is located in arid, semi- and para-arid areas.

Water shortage is posing an increasing threat to the world, deputy energy minister for water affairs said, adding that in some countries, including Iran, the phenomena is more rapid.
Addressing an international conference on coping with water scarcity, Rasoul Zargar stated that water shortage is a reality in the world today.
“Although water scarcity has affected human lives since ancient times, it has been more conspicuous in the twenty century.“
Two out of three people, he said, will be affected by water shortage in the next twenty years, MNA said.
“After lapse of a decade, water has been transformed into a commodity for economical, social, political and security and experts have described it as the means for economic stability and security of nations.
“Water covers two-thirds of the earth’s surface of which 97 percent is found in the oceans as salt water and the rest is fresh water. On the other hand, some 14,000 cubic kilometers of water flow in rivers or are reserved as underground water,“ he said.
“According to UNESCO, world population will reach 8.1 billion in 2030 and will exceed 9.3 billion in 2050,“ he said, adding that demands for water will increase due to population boom.
He anticipated that over 450 billion cubic meters of water will be added annually to this amount as industrial and household waste water worldwide.
“Some 40 percent of the world population dwell in arid and semi-arid countries,“ Zargar said, stating that over 85 percent of Iran is located in arid, semi-arid and para arid areas which receive only one-third of world average rainfalls.
Addressing the same gathering, deputy minister of agriculture jihad for international affairs, Farid Ejlali termed compiling a comprehensive scheme for implementing watershed projects for conserving and using surplus rainwater for agricultural purposes and maintaining water quality as important means of combating drought.
Tehran hosted an international conference on ways to cope with water shortage on January 22-25.
The 2005-2015 has been designated ’International Water Decade’ which indicates the global community’s anxieties about the challenges in the water sector.

The silos will go into operation in six provinces.

Silos with capacities to store about half a million tons of grains will be inaugurated in six provinces in a symbolic ceremony to be attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the Ten Day Dawn (Feb. 1-11) celebrations to mark the 29th anniversary of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Deputy Commerce Minister and Managing Director of State Trading Corporation of Iran Majid Parsania announced this in a press conference while presenting a report on the company’s performance in supplying and storing essential goods, constructing silos, privatizing affiliated companies and guaranteeing wheat purchase.
He expressed satisfaction over private sector contribution to silo construction, adding presently silos with capacities of 1.15 million tons are waiting for loans, ISNA reported.
“The new silos will go into operation in Tehran, Hamedan, West Azarbaijan, North Khorasan, Ilam and Zanjan provinces,“ he said.
Bank Tejarat has paid 7,000 billion rials in loans for silo construction.
The official put the current silo capacity at 9 million tons, adding that legal studies are being conducted on handing over 18 silos belonging to the corporation with the capacity to store 600,000 tons of grains to the private sector.
Underlining the importance of subsidies for wheat, flour and bread, he said that production of quality bread using conventional and industrial methods, training bakers and consumers and restructuring bread production system should be taken into consideration seriously.
To perform the duties notified by Economic Council, State Trading Corporation has provided the country’s need for basic goods one year in advance in the past two years, adding 600,000 tons of rice, 500,000 tons of cooking oil, 50,000 tons of cereal, 450,000 tons of ironware, 500,000 tons sugar have been purchased (from domestic and foreign producers) and stored for the year to March 2009.
Supplying 350,000 tons of steel for state projects are among the major duties of the corporation, he said, adding 80 percent of the figure have been made available so far.
Parsania stated that 600,000 tons of wheat have been exported in the year to March 2008, a major part of which pertained to the private sector.
The official said that guaranteed purchase price of wheat will be increased in the year to Match 2009. He underlined the need for private contribution to the purchase of wheat from farmers.

Concerns about the US dollar, oil prices, inflation and an impending recession have triggered a spike in the price of precious metals.

Gold price rose in global markets to reach $913 per ounce on Saturday, said vice chairman of Tehran Gold and Jewel Guild Union, Mohammad Kashtiarai.
In an interview with MNA, he said that price of gold dropped from $917 to $856 per ounce last Tuesday. “Following the crisis that hit global bourses, the price of gold increased as of Wednesday again,“ he noted.
Full Bahar Azadi gold coin (old design) price touched 2.12 million rials while full gold coin (new design) climbed to 2.06 million rials on Sunday.
Kashtiarai noted that the price of the precious metal went up in the domestic market after the weekend, adding that 18-carat gold was sold for 207,600 rials per gram.
He predicted that price of the precious metal would remain at this level until next week.
Meanwhile the gold price surged to a new record high on Friday as South African miners halted operations due to acute power shortages in the country, fuelling further gains in precious metal prices, The Independent reported.
Concerns about the US dollar, oil prices, inflation and an impending recession have triggered a spike in the price of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Gold, which hit a new record high when it broke through the $900 level earlier this month, is the classic hedge against instability in equity markets and inflation and, because it is priced in dollars, holders of other currencies benefit from a weakness in the US currency.

Only 500,000 out of 16 million residential units in the country are unoccupied, a senior Housing and Urban Development official said.
“This is not a source of concern and the ministry has no program to collect tax from these houses,“ Mahmoud Jahani, director general of ministry’s Planning Office, told MNA in reference to a proposal by a number of lawmakers recently to levy tax on residential units.
According to the latest census, the vacancy rate is three to 3.5 percent in the country and two percent in Tehran.
The ministry is not concerned about this and has no plan to collect tax from owners of vacant houses as certain groups are pushing for it, Jahani observed.
The number of vacant houses in Tehran is about 59,000 and the official said this figure is meager compared to the two million residential units in the megapolis.
Experts maintain that house prices and rentals have room for decrease provided proper measures are taken.
Experts and state policymakers maintain that an annual 1.5 million residential units have to be constructed to resolve the country’s housing problems. Almost 67 percent of Iranian household live in their own homes. Some 25 percent of families reside in rented residential units and between seven and eight percent live in homes provided by organizations they are working with.
Rejecting the proposal to tax owners of vacant houses, the official stated, “This is a policy which discourages investment.“

Four Latin American countries, members of the ALBA grouping, are planning to hold a trade exhibition in Tehran soon, an official said.
Iran’s foreign ministry official for European affairs, Ahmad Sobhani, noted that according to an agreement between Iran and the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) member-states, they will be able to export their products to Iran and receive Iranian products in return.
“Coffee, banana, soybeans and corn are the main products of the ALBA countries,“ he added.
Sobhani, attending the ALBA summit as a special guest, noted that member countries of the grouping have suitable markets for Iranian products, IRIB reported.
A joint proposal by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and his Cuban counterpart, Fidel Castro, was the basis for the establishment of ALBA in 2005. Later Bolivia and Nicaragua also joined the group of countries comprising it.
The Sixth ALBA Summit wrapped up on Saturday in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
Meanwhile, Iran’s exclusive trade exhibition opened in the Sri Lankan capital with a total of sixty Iranian firms in various fields taking part.
Domestic companies attending the exhibition specialize in fields such as metal, non-metal and mineral products; machinery; food industries; hygienic products; handicrafts; carpets; tourism; leather and chinaware.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Commerce Minister, Masoud Mir-Kazemi, noted that Iran deems expansion of bilateral ties in agricultural and industrial fields as well as export of technical services to be very important.

Pars Wagon Co. and Rahvar Rail Kavir Railway Industry on Sunday signed a contract to produce some 300 container wagons.
Announcing this, managing director of Pars Wagon Co. termed the contract as the biggest to be signed with a consortium of several domestic companies.
Referring to the production of 14 and 19- meters container wagons by the private sector of Pars Wagon Co., Gholamreza Razazi noted that the 36-meter container wagon will be designed for the first time in the country, Fars news agency reported.
According to him, these wagons should be built within one year by Pars Wagon Co., and Rahvar Rail Kavir Railway Industry and then will be delivered to Rahvar Rail Kousar Company.
Razazi also disclosed that another contract will be signed for building 500 wagons with an unnamed company. He added that Pars Wagon Co. will do its best to design these wagons domestically.
“We no longer need to import these wagons and can manufacture them at home.“
Managing director of Rahvar Rail Kousar also stated that implementing the railways schemes began in Yazd province in the last Iranian year to March 2007.
Referring to the industrial status of Yazd province, Seyyed Esmail Davoudi Shams underlined that constructing a container unit in this province will pave the way for transporting different kinds of minerals such as iron ore and coal.
He concluded that privatization and development of the railway industry will create opportunities for further activities in the rail transportation sector.

Iran-Alborz Semi-Submersible Drilling Unit (A-SSDU) is ready to be launched and installed in Block 6 of the Caspian Sea.
The North Drilling Co. (NDC) has formed a committee to set a date for exploiting the semi-floating drilling rig in a ceremony to be attended by oil minister and high-ranking officials, PIN reported.
As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to deliver a speech on February 11, the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, February 24 marking the National Oil Engineering Day is among the options and the Iran-Alborz drilling rig will start work in an official ceremony if the Presidential Office approves the time.
The Iran Alborz semisub can operate at water depths up to 1,030 meters and drill down to 6,000 meters under the seabed.
The rig weighs 14,000 tons without its attachments and 120 experts will work on it. It will facilitate exploration in deep waters in southern part of the Caspian Sea.
According to initial estimates, the southern region of the Caspian Sea holds at least 32 billion barrels of oil.