“A bellwether of medical equipment industry in Iran, Alborz is home to more than 105 medical equipment and pharmaceutical plants,” Mohammad Ali Najafi also told IRNA. Najafi made the statements at the inaugural ceremony of a blood bag manufacturing plant in Payam Special Economic Zone, an area to the south of Karaj, the capital of Alborz Province. The plant, billed as the largest manufacturer of blood bags in the Middle East, is a joint venture between Iran’s private sector and France’s Macopharma with a total investment of €10 million and 500 billion rials ($11.9 million), according to Financial Tribune.