More than 613 trillion rials ($5.25 billion) worth of investments are estimated to be made in the industrial units with establishment permits and 92.17 trillion rials ($789.81 million) were invested in projects with operating license during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21).
The investment volumes show a respective growth of 2% and a decline of 64.8% 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 5,950 establishment permits were issued over the three months under review, registering a 26.6% growth year-on-year. These projects are expected to create 138,822 jobs, which is 28.7% more compared with last year's corresponding period.
Semnan Province with 657, Yazd Province with 586 and Khorasan Razavi Province with 466 had the largest share of establishment permits issued during the period.
Kerman Province, with 126.07 trillion rials ($1.08 billion) worth of investments for 129 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 12.7% to 62. Over 51.54 trillion rials ($441.73 million) worth of investments are estimated to have been made in these projects to generate 2,321 jobs, registering a 35.9% and 42.4% fall YOY respectively.
The field of foodstuff and beverages saw the highest number of establishment permits (737) to create the highest number of jobs among other fields (18,167).
The highest amount of investment in these units is expected to be made in projects related to coke and oil derivatives production ($1.19 billion). The volume accounts for 22.6% of all investments to be made in projects, for which establishment permits were issued over the period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 1,310 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 15.3% growth YOY. These projects are expected to create 21,982 jobs, 4% less compared with last year's corresponding period.
Isfahan Province with 127, East Azarbaijan Province with 126 and Tehran Province with 88 had the biggest share of all operating licenses issued during the three months.
Tehran Province, with more than 29.05 trillion rials ($248.96 million), attracted the highest volume of investments in projects with operating permits.
The number of operating licenses issued for industrial projects located in free trade and special economic zones stood at 59, indicating an 18.1% growth YOY. More than 10.88 trillion rials ($93.25 million) worth of investments were made in these projects to create 2,725 jobs, registering a 408.3% and 124.1% growth respectively YOY.
The field of foodstuff and drinkables saw the highest number of operating licenses, namely 192.
The highest volume of investments in this regard were also made in projects related to food and drinkables production ($323.69 million), accounting for 41% of all the investments made in industrial units for which operating licenses were issued.
The same field created the highest number of jobs (3,516) over the three-month period.
The number of greenfield projects for which operating licenses were issued stood at 688, some 41 of which were for those located in free trade and special economic zones. The remaining 622 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 18 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones.
Mineral Production Permits
A total of 114 mineral production permits were issued during the period, registering a 9.5% fall compared with the similar period of last year.
These permits are expected to create 1,192 jobs, which indicate an 18.1% rise year-on-year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of these projects stands over 4.55 million tons, which show an 8.4% decrease compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Fars Province with 14, Khorasan Razavi Province with 11 and Isfahan Province with 9 had the largest share of production permits issued during the period.
Mineral production permits issued over the three months are expected to create the highest number of jobs in Kerman Province (387), Khorasan Razavi Province (109) Fars Province (98) and Yazd Province (88).
The provinces of Fars, Khorasan Razavi and Yazd with a total of 546,500 tons, 514,700 tons and 447,000 tons had the highest volume of nominal production capacities.
A total of 107 exploration permits were issued over the three months to register a 5.9% increase YOY.
Exploration costs stood at more than 197.8 billion rials (over $1.69 million), registering a 196% increase YOY.
