Foreign investment in the Arvand Free Trade Zone (AFTZ) located in the western Khuzestan Province reached $108 million in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), which indicates a 14 percent increase compared to a year before, the chairman of the Arvand Free Trade Zone Organization, Esmaeel Zamani, told IRNA on Sunday. The official referred to the two active ports in the region, abundant capacities for export of oil and petrochemicals, access to Persian Gulf freshwaters and adjacency to Iraq and Persian Gulf countries as the main reasons why foreign investment in the AFTZ is picking up steam. Local officials have provided investors with tax exemptions, among other incentives, earlier said deputy head of the Arvand Free Trade Zone Organization. The AFTZ built in a 155 square kilometer includes industrial and security sites surrounding the southern cities of Khorramshahr, Abadan and Minoo Island. The zone offers direct access to the Iraqi market.
