TEHRAN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday launched new projects to produce methanol, urea and ammonia in the south of the country, Press TV reported.
The projects, inaugurated by President Hassan Rouhani in the southern city of Assalouyeh, will cost 1.85 billion U.S. dollars, it said.
In the opening ceremony, Rouhani said "the sectors that carry the economic burdens, most notably the oil, gas and petrochemical industries" on the frontline of the economic and psychological wars facing Iranians, according to Tasnim news agency.
The projects in Assalouyeh are the signs of Iran's progress, and the plants have created more than 1,300 direct jobs and are going to help the country reap billions of dollars in revenue.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said 85 percent of the funding in the projects came in the form of foreign financing.
