The implementation of large industrial projects in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari is helping the southwestern province move toward industrialization.
The province has an area of 16,332 square kilometers and a population of 900,000, a majority of whom work in the agricultural and livestock breeding sectors. Over the years, the province’s industrial capacities were neglected, with only a handful of small-and medium-sized industries creating limited number of jobs.
But the growth in population and lack of sufficient employment opportunities made the government establish a number of large industrial projects with focus on industrial development, Mehr News Agency reported.
Large Industries
As many as 1,250 industrial and manufacturing units are currently operational in the province, according to director general of the provincial Industries, Mining and Trade Organization, Naeim Emami.
Lordegan Urea Fertilizer Company, Shahrekord Cement Industries Company and Sefid Dasht Steel Complex with an annual capacity of producing 1 million tons of steel and Farrokh Shahr Steel Industries are among major industrial firms in the province.
Shahrekord Cement Industries Company, producing type II and type V Portland cement, started operation since 2008. The company currently exports to Iraq and is implementing a development project to increase production capacity in view of strong demand.
Sefid Dasht Steel Complex is one of the seven so-called ‘Provincial Steel Projects’, which is being completed in collaboration with Mobarakeh Steel Company and the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization.
Emami referred to the abundance of water resources as an attractive characteristic of the province, which has encouraged a number of mineral water manufacturers to set up operations in the country’s first mineral water industrial township.
Emphasizing the crucial role of water for the country and the regional countries, he predicted a good market for bottled water production in the province.
Costly Transportation
Despite good potential in the industrial sector, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari suffers from poor transportation infrastructure. The region’s mountainous terrain makes the development of transportation network costly and difficult. Currently no railroad line passes through the province while the road network also needs to be developed.
The provincial Roads and Urban Development Organization recently allocated funds for the construction of a 322-kilometer long railroad in Sefid Dasht, which will be used to transport materials to and from the steel plant. The railroad, expected to be completed within two years, will connect the province to the national rail network through Isfahan Province.
