And this was before the recent rises in Chinese domestic prices and wage demands, and the increasinglysevere labor shortages being experienced in the coastal provinces.
Iran denies this and, despite increasinglysevere economic sanctions, has shown no sign that it intends to scale back its project or halt its contested uranium enrichment drive.
Already a flood of money from states and private individuals--including billionaires Eli Broad and Ray Dolby--is increasingly allowing the work to move forward despite severe limits on U.S. government funding.
"It is increasingly difficult for people to live in that area because of the low temperatures - winter is very severe, " Yacoub el-Hillo, the UNHCR director for Middle East and North Africa, told the BBC.