With a total of 1.21 quadrillion rials ($5.06 billion), Khuzestan Province accounted for the highest volume of investments in industries with establishment permits and operating licenses issued by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade in the last Iranian year (2020-21).
A total of 613.56 trillion rials ($2.55 billion) of the overall sum pertained to investments in 1,648 projects for which establishment permits were issued, while 602.97 trillion rials ($2.51 billion) were invested in 193 projects for which operating licenses were issued over the period in this southern Iranian province, according to the Industries Ministry.
The volumes of investments in industries with establishment permits and operating licenses in Khuzestan rose by 164.25% and 6,766.6% respectively over the period.
A total of 6.87 quadrillion rials ($28.65 billion) worth of investments were made in industrial units for which establishment permits were issued across the country, while close to 2.07 trillion rials ($8.62 billion) are estimated to have been invested in projects for which operating license were issued during the period.
The investment volumes show a respective growth rate of 87% and 200.8% compared with the year before.
Establishment Permits
A total of 41,343 establishment permits were issued over the 12 months under review, registering a 44.9% growth year-on-year. These projects are expected to create 924,395 jobs, which are 42.6% more YOY.
Khorasan Razavi Province with 3,710, Yazd Province with 3,675 and Fars Province with 2,734 had the largest share of the number of establishment permits issued during the period.
The number of establishment permits issued in free trade and special economic zones decreased by 27.9% to 258. Over 145.45 trillion rials ($606.05 million) worth of investments were made in these projects to generate 13,114 jobs, registering a 78.2% rise and a 25.4% fall YOY respectively.
The field of “other non-metal minerals” saw the highest number of establishment permits (5,180). The field of food and beverages generated the highest number of jobs (93,924).
The highest amount of investment in these units were made in projects related to the production of essential metals with 1.11 quadrillion rials ($4.62 billion). The volume accounts for 16.5% of all investments made in projects with establishment permits during the period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 7,473 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 10% year-on-year growth. These projects are expected to create 142,141 jobs, 23.4% more compared with the year before.
East Azarbaijan Province with 553, Isfahan Province with 508 and Khorasan Razavi Province with 503 had the biggest share of the total number of operating licenses issued last year.
Khuzestan Province attracted 34% of all 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 518, indicating no significant YOY change.
More than 297.84 trillion rials ($1.24 billion) worth of investments were made in these projects to create 22,096 jobs, registering a 231.4% and 21.5% growth respectively YOY.
The field of chemical production saw the highest number of operating licenses, namely 1,036.
The highest volume of investments in this regard were made in projects related to coke and oil derivatives with 710.56 trillion rials ($2.96 billion). The figure shows a whopping 1,160.4% upsurge compared with the year before. This amount accounted for 40.1% of all investments made in industrial units with operating licenses. The field of food and beverages created the highest number of jobs (15,374) over the period.
The number of greenfield projects for which operating licenses were issued stood at 3,908, some 269 of which were for those located in free trade and special economic zones. The remaining 3,565 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 249 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones.
Mineral Production Permits
A total of 680 mineral production permits were issued during the period, registering an 18.1% rise compared with the previous year, the Industries Ministry reported.
These permits are expected to create 5,516 jobs, which indicate a YOY rise of 15.4%.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of the projects stands at 47.45 million tons, which show a considerable 98.7% surge compared with the year before.
The provinces of Khorasan Razavi with 69, Isfahan with 54, Fars with 51, Markazi with 46, Yazd with 39 and East Azarbaijan with 37 had the largest share of mineral production permits issued during the one-year period.
Mineral production permits issued over the period under review are expected to create the largest number of jobs in Khorasan Razavi Province (563), Fars Province (496), South Khorasan Province (412), Kerman Province (405), Isfahan Province (370), East Azarbaijan Province (307) and Yazd Province (296).
The provinces of South Khorasan, Hormozgan and Khuzestan with a total of 15.86 million tons, 3.5 million tons and 3.2 million tons respectively had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacities.
A total of 536 exploration permits were issued during the 12 months, which show a meager rise of 5.7% compared with the year before.
Exploration costs stood close to 1.55 trillion rials ($6.45 million), registering a YOY increase of 39.5%.
