Ministry Assesses Industrial Investments Over Five Months

EghtesadOnline: Atotal of 4.99 quadrillion rials ($18.12 billion) worth of investments were made in industrial units with establishment permits issued by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, while projects with operating licenses are estimated to have received close to 1.06 trillion rials ($3.85 billion) of investment during the current Iranian year’s first five months (March 21-Aug. 22).

News ID: ۷۸۷۲۵۲

03 November 2021

The above figures show a respective growth rate of 187.4% and 511.4% 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 14,785 establishment permits were issued during the period under review, registering a 0.3% year-on-year growth. These projects are expected to create 358,166 jobs, 11.7% more compared with the corresponding period of the year before.

East Azarbaijan Province with 1,035, Semnan Province with 1,011 and Fars Province with 976 had the largest share of establishment permits issued during the period.

Yazd Province, with 628 trillion rials ($2.28 billion) in 1,132 projects attracted the highest volume of investment to register a 283.7% surge 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 declined by 20.7% to 65.

Investments worth 24.223 trillion rials ($88.02 million) were made in these projects (down 9.5% YOY) to generate 3,212 jobs (up 7.7% YOY).

The field of “other non-metal minerals” saw the highest number of establishment permits (1,929) followed by “food and beverages” (1,449) and “chemical production” (1,418). The field of “other non-metal minerals” generated the highest number of jobs (55,200).

The highest volume of investment in these units is expected to be made in projects related to “essential metal production” with 1.72 quadrillion rials ($6.24billion). The volume accounts for 34.5% of all investments made in projects for which establishment permits were issued in the five-month period.

Operating Licenses

A total of 2,587 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 11.2% YOY increase. These projects are expected to create 62,494 jobs, indicating an 61.1% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Isfahan Province with 241 and South Khorasan with 205 had the largest share of all operating licenses issued during the five months, and Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province with 10 had the lowest number of permits among all provinces.

Fars Province, with 160.9 trillion rials ($584.45 million) for 121 projects, attracted the highest volume of investment. The figure shows a whopping 3,084% upsurge compared with the similar period of last year and accounts for 15.1% of total investment.

The highest number of jobs were generated in the provinces of Kerman and Isfahan with 6,868 and 5,963 jobs respectively.

The number of these licenses issued for industrial projects located in free trade and special economic zones stood at 70, indicating a decline of 70.5% YOY. A total of 14.58 trillion rials ($52.96 million) worth of investments have been made in these projects to create 1,764 jobs, registering a 93.4% and 85.7% fall respectively year-on-year.

The field of chemical production saw the highest number of operating licenses with 406. The field of essential metal production created the highest number of jobs (8,395) in the five-month period.

The highest volume of investment was made in projects related to coke and oil derivatives (314.1 trillion rials or $1.14 billion). The figure skyrocketed by a staggering 17,434% YOY and accounted for 29.5% of all investments made in industrial units for which operating licenses were issued.

The number of greenfield projects for which operating licenses were issued stood at 1,390, 31 of which were for those located in free trade and special economic zones, indicating a 19.4% rise and a 73.5% decline respectively YOY.

A total of 1,267 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 39 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones showing a 3.3% increase and 67.5% decline YOY, respectively.

Mineral Production Permits

A total of 187 mineral production permits were issued during the same period, registering a 28.4% fall compared with the similar period of last year.

These permits are expected to create 1,786 jobs, which indicate a 19.3% decline compared with the same period of last year.

The nominal mineral extraction capacity of projects is estimated at 6.71 million tons, which show a 44.6% decline compared with last year’s corresponding period.

The provinces of Khorasan Razavi with 31, Semnan with 15, Yazd with 14, Isfahan with 13 and Kerman with 11 had the largest share of mineral production permits issued during the period.

Mineral production permits issued in the five months are expected to create the largest number of jobs in Kerman Province (258), Khorasan Razavi Province (212), Isfahan Province (162), Mazandaran Province (145) and Semnan (132).

The provinces of Kerman, Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi with a total of 868,800 tons, 536,800 tons and 522,900 tons respectively had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacities.

A total of 353 exploration permits were issued during the five months, down 8.1% year-on-year.

Exploration costs stood at 814.5 billion rials ($2.96 million), registering a YOY increase of 38.7%.