Tehran, Dec 18 : The new generation of Iran's uranium-enrichment centrifuges is to be ready by March 2011, the head of Iran's Atomic Organiszation said Friday.

Ali Akbar Salehi told the Fars news agency that the new centrifuges - named IR3 and IR4 - were currently being produced and that after a test period, they would be ready for use by the end of the next Persian year - in March 2011.

Iran has been planning since last year to upgrade the technology of its centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment.

Salehi said that 6,000 centrifuges - believed to be mainly the older models - were now operating in a uranium-enrichment site in Natanz in central Iran.

He also said work on the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran would be finished by its Russian contractor within the next few months, adding that Norway and Japan offered to cooperate on security issues.

The Bushehr plant was supposed to be completed 10 years ago, but work was delayed by Russia for various reasons, including political considerations.

As Iran has no other partners for its nuclear projects, owing to international suspicion over its intentions, the Islamic state so far had to be patient with Moscow, but the Iranian parliament expressed doubt in Russia's sincerity to complete the plant.

However, Japan said it was willing to cooperate with Iran on nuclear technology, Salehi said.

Iran insists it has the right to pursue peaceful nuclear development as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and rejects Western charges that it is working on a secret nuclear programme to make an atomic bomb.

However, its lack of transparency regarding its nuclear programme and refusal to suspend uranium enrichment have led to several United Nations Security Council sanctions resolutions against the Islamic state.(DPA)