Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said Iran will become a center for building nuclear power plants, Mehr reported.

"We should be able to turn the country into one of the poles for building and designing nuclear power plants in the coming years," Eslami said Thursday during the inauguration of the gamma ray project in Bonab.

"In the first year of the (current) government, planning for the development of radiation use was on the agenda. A comprehensive development document was studied and developed at the country level and put on the agenda. Based on that document, the country identified 12 points that could be used in agriculture," he added.

Saying that there is only one radiation system that is used in a limited part of this area, Eslami added that a truly state-of-the-art portable system has now been developed.

"The first local sample will be installed and launched soon at the first site in one of the provinces of the country. A production line for this gamma ray system has been set up at the Bonab Center," the AEOI head continued.

"We have a broad plan to cover the country with the installation of Gamma system equipment in the first phase within three years... The issue of expanding the scope of nuclear technology in the country every day is very important to us. On the issue of nuclear power production, which is one of the needs of the country, we have considered setting a 20-year goal," he added.