The restart decision reflects an effort to make use of existing
investment and infrastructure while limiting the costs associated with
prolonged delays, equipment deterioration and idle capital, Mojtaba
Bakhshi-Pour, a member of Iran’s parliament, said.
The GTPP Islamabad West project, with planned final capacity of about 960,000
metric tons of products a year, is one of western Iran’s major industrial
projects and the country’s first industrial-scale attempt to convert natural
gas into polypropylene using technology developed by Petrochemical Research and
Technology Co., according to Bakhshi-Pour.
Construction began in 2019, and the project had reached significant
physical progress before its suspension. Considerable investment had also
already been made, he said. The recent wartime disruption, combined with
accumulated delays, maintenance costs and the opportunity cost of foregone
production, increased the economic pressure to determine the project’s future.
Phased Restart
The decision to resume the project followed sustained discussions
involving Iran’s Oil Ministry and National Petrochemical Co., Bakhshi-Pour
said. The review examined the project’s technical and economic assumptions as
well as its execution strategy.
The revised approach calls for maximizing the use of existing
equipment and infrastructure, reducing unnecessary costs and completing units
in stages to bring the project into production sooner.
Economic assumptions will continue to be assessed against feedstock
prices, foreign-exchange rates, capital costs, project schedules and market
conditions, Bakhshi-Pour said. Updated assessments indicated that a phased
implementation with tighter resource management provides a viable basis for
continuing the project.
The approach marks a shift from evaluating the project as a new
investment to managing an industrial asset in which substantial capital and
infrastructure have already been deployed.
Employment Pressure
The project’s restart also has implications for the local labor
market. A significant number of workers were laid off after the project was
suspended amid wartime conditions, with many of them young people from the
surrounding area, Bakhshi-Pour said.
Resuming construction could bring some of those workers back and
support economic activity in Islamabad West, where creating sustainable
employment is a major local demand.
Bakhshi-Pour said the project’s importance therefore extends beyond
its production capacity, with employment and the development of downstream
polypropylene industries forming part of the longer-term rationale for
completing the investment.
Existing Investment Under Review
The project has faced criticism in the past over its location, feedstock
availability, water supply, product markets and economic viability.
Bakhshi-Pour acknowledged those concerns but said the circumstances have
changed since the project was originally designed.
The government is now dealing with a partially completed project
rather than an investment starting from zero, he said. Existing infrastructure,
equipment and physical progress mean that abandoning the project would also
carry significant costs.
The restart will be pursued with tighter financial controls, cost monitoring,
technical and environmental oversight and greater use of local workers,
according to Bakhshi-Pour.
If completed, the project is also expected to provide a platform for
downstream polypropylene industries, potentially increasing local value-added
production and creating longer-term employment opportunities.