In the same realm, 43.8 trillion rials ($367 million) was invested in projects and the companies received operating licenses in the first two months (March 21- May. 20, 2019) of the current fiscal year.
The above amounts indicate growth of 17.7% and decrease of 15.4% respectively compared to similar period last year, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade reported.
Permits to Establish
A total of 3,599 establishment permits were issued in the two months, -- up 25% year-on-year. The projects are expected to create 79,000 jobs, which will be 14% more compared to last year, Financial Tribune reported.
Semnan Province with 399, Yazd 352 and Khorasan Razavi with 261 had the largest share of the establishment permits issued during the period.
Yazd Province, with more than 20.34 trillion rials (over $170 million) in investments for 352 establishment permits, attracted the highest amount of investments.
The number of establishment permits issued for industrial units in the free trade and special economic zones fell by 4.5% to 42. Over 50.5 trillion rials ($423 million) worth of investments are to be made in these projects that are expected to generate 1,900 jobs – down 14.9% and 36.1% Y/Y respectively.
The food and beverage sector got the highest number of establishment permits (451) for creating the highest number of jobs among other fields (10,384).
The highest amount of investment in these sectors is expected to be made in projects related to production of chemicals ($962.81 million). This volume accounts for 29.3% of all the investments, for which establishment permits were issued.
Operation Permits
Meanwhile, 832 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows 29.8% growth YOY. The projects are expected to create 14,700 jobs, 20.1% more compared to the corresponding period last year.
East Azarbaijan Province with 84, Isfahan Province 81 and Tehran Province 56 had the biggest share of all operating licenses issued in the two months.
Lavan Special Economic Zone in Hormozgan Province, with more than 8.65 trillion rials ($72.4 million), attracted the biggest investments for which operation permits were issued. This accounted for 19.7% of all investments in projects for which operating licenses were issued.
The number of operating licenses issued for industrial projects in free trade and economic zones stood at 44, indicating a 2.3% growth Y/Y. More than 10.6 trillion rials ($89 million) worth of investments were made in these projects to create 2,452 jobs -- 989% and 284.3% growth respectively YOY.
Food and soft drinks saw the highest number of operating licenses (111).
The biggest investments were in projects related to coke and oil derivatives production ($80.41 million), accounting for 21.9% of all investments made in industrial units for which operating licenses were issued. The same field created the highest number of jobs (2,799) over the two-month period.
The number of greenfield projects for which operating licenses were issued stood at 439, almost 29 of which were for companies in free trade and special economic zones. The remaining 393 permits were issued for brownfield projects, 15 of which were in the FTZs and special economic zones.
Mineral Exploitation
A total of 69 mineral exploitation permits were issued during the period – down 4.8% compared with the similar period last year.
The exploitation permits are expected to create 490 jobs, which indicates a 26.8% decline year-on-year.
Nominal mineral extraction capacity of the projects is estimated at 2.81 million tons, which shows a 21.4% decrease compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Fars Province with 9, Khorasan Razavi Province 7 and the provinces of Isfahan, Khuzestan and Yazd with 5 each had the largest share of the exploitation permits.
Mineral exploitation permits issued over the two month period are expected to create the highest number of jobs in Khorasan Razavi (83), Fars Province (65) East Azarbaijan Province (34) and Isfahan (30).
The provinces of Khorasan Razavi, Fars and East Azarbaijan with a total of 391,799 tons, 334,500 tons and 151,000 tons had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacity.
Moreover, 66 exploration permits were issued in the two months -- a 4.8% increase Y/Y.
Exploration costs stood at more than 168.1 billion rials (over $1.4 million), registering a 196% increase Y/Y.