Investment volumes in units with establishment permits and operating licenses show a respective growth of 31.5% and 70.2% year-on-year, the latest report released by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade shows.
Establishment Permits
A total of 14,806 establishment permits were issued over the five months, registering a 40.3% year-on-year growth. These projects are estimated to have created 322,371 jobs – 29.4% more compared with last year's corresponding period.
Khorasan Razavi Province with 1,453, Yazd Province with 1.426 and Tehran Province with 951 had the largest share of the establishment permits issued during the period.
Yazd Province, with 175.69 trillion rials ($604 million) worth of investments for 1,426 establishment permits, is projected to have attracted the highest amount of investment.
The number of establishment permits issued for industrial units located in free trade and special economic zones decreased by 72.4% to 34.
Investments worth 10.83 trillion rials ($37 million) are expected to be made in these projects to generate 1,714 jobs, registering a 96.6% and 76.1% YOY decline respectively.
The field of “other non-metallic minerals” saw the highest number of establishment permits (1,854) and the highest number of jobs was generated in the field of food and beverages (36,561).
The highest amount of investment in these units is expected to be made in projects related to chemical production with 214.57 trillion rials ($738 million). The volume accounts for 12.2% of all investments to be made in projects, for which establishment permits were issued over the period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 2,377 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 5.4% YOY fall. These projects are expected to have created 41,924 jobs, 3.9% more compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Khorasan Razavi Province with 179, East Azarbaijan Province with 178 and Isfahan Province with 173 had the largest share of all operating licenses issued during the five months.
Isfahan Province, with more than 19.36 trillion rials ($66 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 60, indicating a 58.9% decline YOY. More than 148.86 trillion rials ($512 million) worth of investments are estimated to have been made in these projects to create 3,094 jobs, registering a 779% surge and a 28.2% decline respectively YOY.
The field of chemical production saw the highest number of operating licenses, namely 399, and the field of food and beverages created the highest number of jobs (5,007) over the five-month period.
The highest volume of investments in this regard was made in projects related to the production of basic metals (160.88 trillion rials or $553 million), accounting for 49.3% 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 1,157, some 27 of which were for those located in free trade and special economic zones.
A total of 1,220 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 33 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones.
Mineral Production Permits
A total of 262 mineral production permits were issued during the period, registering an 11.5% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
These permits are expected to create 2,227 jobs, which indicate a 4.5% rise compared with the similar period of last year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of the projects stands at 12.08 million tons, which shows a 21.4% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The provinces of Fars and Markazi with 24 each, Semnan with 20 and Khorasan Razavi and Isfahan with 19 each had the largest share of mineral production permits issued during the period.
Mineral production permits issued over the five months under review are expected to create the largest number of jobs in Fars Province (245), Kerman Province (239), East Azarbaijan Province (198), Khorasan Razavi Province (158), Semnan Province (142) and Hormozgan Province (130).
The provinces of Hormozgan, Khuzestan and East Azarbaijan, with a total of 2.02 million tons, 1.42 million tons and 1.32 million tons respectively, had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacities.
A total of 185 exploration permits were issued during the five months ending Aug. 21 to register a 6.1% decrease YOY.
Exploration costs stood at 408.8 billion rials (1.4 million), registering a 30.9% increase YOY.