More than 485 trillion rials ($2 billion) worth of investment were made in industrial units with establishment permits, while projects with operating licenses are estimated to have received 50.77 trillion rials ($218 million) in the first two months of the current Iranian year (March 20-May 20).
Investment volumes in units with establishment permits and operating licenses show respective growth rates of 22.3% and 8.6% 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 4,622 establishment permits were issued over the two months under review, registering a 26.1% year-on-year growth. These projects were expected to create 100,461 jobs, 23.4% more compared with last year's corresponding period.
Yazd Province with 545, Khorasan Razavi Province with 430 and East Azarbaijan with 256 had the largest share of the establishment permits issued during the period.
Khuzestan Province, with close to 58.56 trillion rials ($251.88 million) worth of expected investments for 166 establishment permits, is projected to attract the highest amount of investments.
The number of establishment permits issued for industrial units located in free trade and special economic zones decreased by 68.8% to 15.
Investments worth 3.13 trillion rials ($13.46 million) were made in these projects to generate 884 jobs, registering a 93.8% and 56.4% YOY decline respectively.
The field of “other non-metal minerals” saw the highest number of establishment permits (562) and the highest number of jobs was generated in the field of food and beverage (11,949).
The highest amount of investment were made in projects related to essential metals production with 80.16 trillion rials ($344.8 million). The volume accounts for 16.5% of all investments made in projects, for which establishment permits were issued during the period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 704 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 17.5% YOY fall. These projects were expected to create 11,893 jobs, 16.9% less compared with last year's corresponding period.
Khorasan Razavi Province with 64, East Azarbaijan Province with 57 and Isfahan Province with 53 had the largest share of all operating licenses issued during the two months.
East Azarbaijan Province, with more than 6.93 trillion rials ($29.8 million), attracted the highest volume of investment in projects with operating licenses.
The number of operating licenses issued for industrial projects located in free trade and special economic zones stood at 25, indicating a 43.2% decline YOY. More than 10.45 trillion rials ($44.95 million) worth of investments have been made in these projects to create 1,996 jobs, registering a 2.2% growth and a 6.9% decline respectively YOY.
The field of chemical production saw the highest number of operating licenses, namely 130. The same field created the highest number of jobs (1,864) over the two-month period.
The highest volume of investments in this regard were made in projects related to the production of coke and oil derivatives (10.46 trillion rials or $44.98 million), accounting for 20.6% of all investments made in industrial units with operating licenses.
The number of greenfield projects for which operating licenses were issued stood at 335, of which nine were for those located in free trade and special economic zones. The remaining 369 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 16 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones.
Mineral Production Permits
A total of 76 mineral production permits were issued during the period, registering a 10.1% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
These permits are expected to create 747 jobs, which indicate a 47.9% rise year-on-year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of the projects stands at 5.02 million tons, which shows a 75.4% hike compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The provinces of Khorasan Razavi with 10, Markazi with seven and West Azarbaijan and Khuzestan with six each had the largest share of mineral production permits issued during the period.
Mineral production permits issued over the two months were expected to create the largest number of jobs in East Azarbaijan Province (157), Khorasan Razavi Province (83), Kerman Province (50) and Hormozgan Province (48).
The provinces of Hormozgan, East Azarbaijan and Khuzestan with a total of 899,000 tons, 825,000 tons and 795,000 tons respectively had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacities.
A total of 58 exploration permits were issued over the two months to register a 12.1% increase YOY.
Exploration costs stood at 130.3 billion rials ($560,430), which registered a 22.5% decline YOY.
