According to Mohsen Salehinia, deputy industries minister and the head of ISIPO, with these recession-hit units back on track, a total of 8,053 jobs have been reinstated, Mehr News Agency reported
The Industries Ministry plans to revive 1,500 recession-hit small- and medium-sized enterprises to revive 27,000 jobs by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2021).
The deputy minister noted that 50 of the total revived units so far this year are located in Tehran that was followed by the central provinces of Qom and Isfahan with 46 and 41 revived units respectively.
Salehinia said there are more than 45,000 industrial units in 820 industrial towns across the country, 9,500 of which have been shuttered and sent thousands of workers have been made redundant.
About 93% of total industrial units are considered small, 4% medium and 3% large.
About 35,000 small and large units are also under construction, he added.
By definition, enterprises run by 50 workers or less, and 100 workers or less are considered small- and medium-sized enterprises respectively, according to Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization.
$2.1b Worth of Foreign Investment in Industrial Towns
A total of $2.1 billion worth of investment by 231 foreign investors has been made in Iran’s industrial town by March 19, 2020, creating 19,862 jobs.
According to a report by IRNA citing data provided by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, there are 1,100 small- and medium-sized enterprises based in industrial towns with annual exports worth $12.64 billion.
Iran’s industrial towns are home to 62 export management companies and 72 export consortiums with annual exports worth $236 million and $352 million, respectively.
By March 19, 2020, a total of 23 memorandums of understanding on cooperation in the fields of development had been finalized between Iranian SMEs and various countries.
Some other significant statistics regarding SMEs by March 19 include participation of 41,631 of them in domestic and international exhibitions, holding eight training courses and overseas assignments for 176 industrial managers in Germany in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH or GIZ, which led to the conclusion of a €180-million contract.
Gov't Plan to Launch $7.7b Worth of Projects by Yearend
The government plans to launch 200 industrial, mining and trade projects worth 1.69 quadrillion rials ($7.71 billion) across the country by the end of the current fiscal year (March 20, 2021), creating 41,000 new jobs along the way.
Last week was the ninth consecutive week of industrial inaugurations after the government’s scheme kicked off earlier this year. So far this year, 44 mining and industrial projects worth over 200 trillion rials ($913 million) have come on stream.
According to official data, the projects have created more than 7,000 direct jobs across the country.