Investments in units with establishment permits and operating licenses show a respective growth rate of 20.7% and 101.5% 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 11.192 establishment permits were issued over the four months under review, registering a 33.7% year-on-year growth. These projects are expected to create 241,742 jobs, which are 20.4% more compared with last year's corresponding period.
Khorasan Razavi Province with 1.149, Yazd Province with 1.121 and Fars Province with 647 had the largest share of establishment permits issued during the period.
Khuzestan Province, with close to 101.56 trillion rials ($345.08 million) worth of expected investments for 167 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 69.1% to 30.
Investments worth 10.2 trillion rials ($34.66 million) are expected to be made in these projects to generate 1,371 jobs, registering a 89.3% and 73.6% YOY decline respectively.
The field of “other non-metal minerals” saw the highest number of establishment permits (1,422) and the highest number of jobs was generated in the field of food and beverages (28,110).
The highest amount of investment in these units is expected to be made in projects related to chemical production with 185,84 trillion rials ($641.37 million). The volume accounts for 15.5% of all investments to be made in projects, for which establishment permits were issued over the period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 1,779 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 9.7% YOY fall. These projects are expected to create 30,566 jobs, 4.5% less compared with last year's corresponding period.
East Azarbaijan Province with 138, Khorasan Razavi Province with 129 and Isfahan Province with 126 had the largest share of all operating licenses issued during the four months.
Isfahan Province, with more than 14.62 trillion rials ($49.68 million), attracted the highest volume of estimated 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 54, indicating a 51.4% decline YOY. More than 148.73 trillion rials ($505.37 million) worth of investments are estimated to have been made in these projects to create 3,035 jobs, registering a 887.4% upsurge and a 15.5% decline respectively YOY.
The field of chemical production saw the highest number of operating licenses, namely 290. The same field created the highest number of jobs (3,669) over the four-month period.
The highest volume of investments in this regard was made in projects related to the production of essential metals (15.24 trillion rials or $51.78 million), accounting for 58.6% of all investments made in industrial units with operating licenses.
The number of greenfield projects with operating licenses stood at 855, some 25 of which were for those located in free trade and special economic zones. A total of 924 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 29 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones.
Mineral Production Permits
A total of 204 mineral production permits were issued during the period, registering a 7.4% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
These permits are expected to create 1,698 jobs, which indicate a 7.7% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of projects stands at 10.18 million tons, which shows a 26.1% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The provinces of Fars with 21, Markazi with 18 and Khorasan Razavi with 16 and Isfahan and Semnan with 14 each had the largest share of mineral production permits issued during the period.
Mineral production permits issued over the four months under review are expected to create the largest number of jobs in Fars Province (216), East Azarbaijan Province (184), Khorasan Razavi Province (136), Hormozgan Province (104) and Markazi Province (99).
The provinces of Hormozgan, Khuzestan and East Azarbaijan with a total of 1.63 million tons, 1.37 million tons and 1.17 million tons respectively had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacities.
A total of 142 exploration permits were issued during the four months ending July 21 to register a 13.9% increase YOY.
Exploration costs stood at 329.8 billion rials ($11.9 million), registering a 31.5% increase YOY.