More than 1.37 quadrillion rials ($11.09 billion) worth of investments are estimated to have been made in industrial units, for which establishment permits were issued, while 203.65 trillion rials ($1.64 million) were invested in projects for which operating license were issued during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22).
The investment volumes show a respective decline of 21.4% and 38.8% compared with the similar period of last year, the latest report released by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade shows.
Establishment Permits
A total of 12,734 establishment permits were issued over the six months under review, registering an 18.5% growth year-on-year. These projects are expected to create 301,153 jobs, which are 16.2% more compared with last year's corresponding period.
Yazd Province with 1,350, Semnan Province with 1,211 and Khorasan Razavi Province with 1,024 had the largest share of the establishment permits issued during the period.
Kerman Province, with more than 150.62 trillion rials (over $1.21 billion) worth of estimated investments for 277 establishment permits, attracted the highest amount of investments.
The number of establishment permits issued for industrial units located in free trade and special economic zones decreased by 11.7% to 143. Over 177.85 trillion rials ($1.43 million) worth of investments are estimated to be made in these projects to generate 7,986 jobs, registering a 38.2% and 10.3% fall YOY respectively.
The field of foodstuff and beverages saw the highest number of establishment permits (1,644) to create the largest number of jobs among other fields (38,544).
The highest amount of investment in these units is expected to be made in projects related to coke and oil derivatives production with 308.75 trillion rials (close to $2.49 billion). The volume accounts for 22.4% of all investments to be made in projects, for which establishment permits were issued over the period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 2,926 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows an 8.5% growth YOY. These projects are expected to create 46,962 jobs, 8.3% less compared with last year's corresponding period.
East Azarbaijan Province with 269, Isfahan Province with 253 and Tehran Province with 198 had the biggest share of all operating licenses issued during the six months.
Tehran Province, with more than 48.28 trillion rials ($389.4 million), attracted the highest volume of investments in projects for which operating licenses were issued. This accounted for 23.7% of all the investments made in projects with operating licenses.
The number of operating licenses issued for industrial projects located in free trade and special economic zones stood at 167, indicating a 21.9% growth YOY.
More than 19.27 trillion rials ($155.43 million) worth of investments were made in these projects to create 4,973 jobs, registering a 16.4% and 26.8% growth respectively YOY.
The field of foodstuff and beverages saw the highest number of operating licenses, namely 420.
The highest volume of investments in this regard were also made in projects related to food and beverage production with close to 59.2 trillion rials ($477.4 million), accounting for 29.1% of all investments made in industrial units for which operating licenses were issued. The same field created the highest number of jobs (7,205) over the six-month period.
The number of greenfield projects for which operating licenses were issued stood at 1,540, some 113 of which were for those located in free trade and special economic zones. The remaining 1,386 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 54 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones.
Mineral Exploitation Permits
A total of 278 mineral production permits were issued during the period, registering a 4.1% decline compared with the similar period of last year. These permits are expected to create 2.508 jobs, which indicate a 10.3% rise year-on-year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of the projects stands at 10.82 million tons, which shows a 5.3% decrease compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The provinces of Khorasan Razavi, Fars and South Khorasan with 27, 26 and 25 had the largest share of production permits issued during the period.
Mineral production permits issued over the six months under review are expected to create the highest number of jobs in Kerman Province (481), Khorasan Razavi Province (2,036) South Khorasan Province (220) and Fars Province (185).
The provinces of Fars, Khuzestan and Khorasan Razavi, with a total of 1.185 million tons, 1.183 million tons and 1.06 million tons, had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacities.
A total of 236 exploration permits were issued over the six months to register a 4% increase YOY.
Exploration costs stood at 513.3 billion rials ($4.14 million), registering a 69.4% increase YOY.
