On May 25 of this year Iran inaugurated a $2.3 million fiber-optic cable plant in the city of Karaj, near the capital, Tehran. The plant is currently operating with a 50 to 60 percent capacity that will increase in the coming two years.
An official of the Energy Ministry claims that the plant, described as the first of its kind in the Middle East, has a production capacity of 1,000 km of cables per year, and relies on raw materials produced in Iran and others imported from abroad.
The price of one meter of cables produced by the plant is put at between $8 and $10 in world market while its price locally does not exceed $3.70 per meter, according to published reports.