Over the next three to five years, Iran has many transportation projects on offer which it is ready to award some to �internationally proven Turkish companies," Iranian Ambassador to Ankara Alireza Bigdeli said.
He said prospective Turkish corporations would be awarded contracts based on work partnership with Iranian companies without bids.
Ankara-based construction company Bergiz Insaat has already won a $1.2 billion project to build a highway between Iran�s northwestern city of Tabriz and Bazargan on the border with Turkey. It is also building an $800 million subway in Tabriz.
Commercial ties between Iran and Turkey remain strong. Trade volume stood at $14 billion last year which the two countries plan to raise to $30 billion.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan�visited Tehran in April and the two neighbors signed eight documents to expand cooperation and boost trade.
�We are working to improve trade in local currency with Turkey. We need a mechanism to protect businesspeople against extreme foreign currency fluctuations,� Bigdeli said.
In January, the two neighbors sealed a trade agreement after 10 years of negotiations that gave Iran preferred tariffs on some agricultural products and similar breaks to some Turkish industrial goods.
Iran also seeks a bigger share in Turkey�s energy market. Bigdeli said Tehran and Ankara have reached a preliminary agreement on Turkey�s increase of gas imports from Iran and a new gas pricing.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"]
Iran's Ambassador Alireza Bigdeli (L) presents his credentials to former President Abdullah Gul in March 2013 at the Cankaya Presidential Palace.[/caption]The two countries disagree on the gas price, with Turkey taking Iran to the International Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland.
Iran is Turkey�s second supplier of gas after Russia, providing for one-fifth of the country�s consumption. Turkey imports about 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Iran under a 25-year deal signed in 1996.
Turkey�s Halk bank�handles payments for Iranian energy transactions but those operations have come under strain amid intensified sanctions on Tehran.
Bigdeli said Turkey�s state-run TC Ziraat Bankasi AS should also do business with Iran, Bloomberg reported.
By Press TV
