A total of 10.47 quadrillion rials ($38.63 billion) worth of investments were made in industrial units for which the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade had issued establishment permits, while 2.18 quadrillion rials ($8.04 billion) were invested in projects with operating licenses during the current Iranian year’s first 10 months (March 21, 2021-Jan. 20).
The above figures show respective year-on-year growth rates of 99.05% and 17.2%, the latest data released by the Industries Ministry show.
Establishment Permits
A total of 32,798 establishment permits were issued during the period under review, registering a 2.6% year-on-year growth. These projects created 695,966 jobs, which were 13.02% higher compared with the corresponding period of the year before.
Yazd Province with 2,456, East Azarbaijan Province with 2,322 and Khorasan Razavi Province with 2,191 had the largest share of establishment permits issued during the period.
Kerman Province, with 1.7 quadrillion rials ($6.27 billion) in 959 projects, attracted the highest volume of investment, registering a 298.7% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The number of establishment permits issued for industrial units located in free trade and special economic zones increased by 40% to 322.
Investments worth 420.71 trillion rials ($1.55 billion) were made in these projects (up 110.7% YOY) to generate 22,518 jobs (up 61% YOY).
The field of “other non-metal minerals” saw the largest number of establishment permits (4,093) followed by “chemical production” (3,319).
The field of “other non-metal minerals” generated the highest number of jobs (108,085).
The highest volume of investment in these units is expected to be made in projects related to “essential metal production” with 2.4 quadrillion rials ($8.85 billion). The volume accounts for 23.9% of all projected investments in projects for which establishment permits were issued during the period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 5,375 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 5.26% YOY increase. These projects created 113,997 jobs, indicating a 18.72% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Isfahan Province with 505, Tehran with 456 and Khorasan Razavi with 426 had the largest share of all operating licenses issued during the 10 months while North Khorasan Province with 31 had the lowest number of permits among all provinces.
Hormozgan Province, with 206 trillion rials ($760.14 million) invested in 87 projects, attracted the highest volume of investment. The figure shows a 14,306% jump compared with the similar period of last year and accounts for 13.1% of total investment.
The highest number of jobs were generated in the provinces of Alborz, Isfahan and Tehran with 12,023, 10,981 and 9,151 jobs respectively.
The number of these licenses issued for industrial projects located in free trade and special economic zones stood at 348, indicating a decline of 29.4% YOY. An estimated 616.12 trillion rials ($227.35 million) worth of investments were made in these projects (up 106.1%) to create 15,568 jobs, registering a 26.1% decrease year-on-year.
The field of chemical production saw the highest number of operating licenses (890) and jobs (15,408).
The highest volume of investment was made in projects related to coke and oil derivatives (452.7 trillion rials or $1.67 billion). The figure declined by 36% YOY and accounted for 28.8% of all investments made in industrial units with operating licenses.
The number of greenfield projects with operating licenses stood at 3,288, of which 180 were located in free trade and special economic zones, indicating a 11.4% growth and a 30.2% decline respectively YOY.
A total of 2,891 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, of which 168 were located in FTZs and special economic zones, and showed a 5.3% growth and 28.5% decline YOY, respectively.
Mineral Production Permits
A total of 425 mineral production permits were issued during the same period, registering a 17.5% fall compared with the similar period of last year.
These permits created 3,652 jobs, which indicate a 13% decline compared with the same period of last year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of projects hit 21.86 million tons, which shows a 44.4% decline compared with last year’s corresponding period.
The provinces of Khorasan Razavi with 50, Yazd with 38, Kerman with 31 and Isfahan, Fars and Semnan each with 26 had the largest share of mineral production permits issued during the period.
Mineral production permits issued during the period created the largest number of jobs in Yazd Province (502), Khorasan Razavi Province (349), Kerman Province (346), Fars Province (296) and Isfahan Province (234).
The provinces of Yazd, Kerman and Khuzestan with a total of 4.87 million tons, 3.15 million tons and 1.24 tons respectively had the highest volume of projected nominal extraction capacities.
A total of 401 exploration permits were issued during the period, down 5.4% year-on-year.
Exploration costs stood at 3.8 trillion rials ($14.02 million), registering a YOY increase of 274.4%.
