Investment volumes in units with establishment permits and operating licenses show a respective growth rate of 60.8% and 299% 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 31,940 establishment permits were issued over the 10 months under review, registering a 38.6% year-on-year growth. These projects created 716,303 jobs – 37.6% more compared with last year's corresponding period.
Khorasan Razavi Province with 3,126, Yazd Province with 2,798 and Fars Province with 2,036 had the largest share of the establishment permits issued during the period.
The southern Hormozgan Province, with more than 520.57 trillion rials ($2.14 billion) worth of investments for 464 establishment permits is projected to attract the highest amount of investments. This amount registers a 638.3% hike 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 decreased by 63.3% to 108.
Investments worth 92.31 trillion rials ($379.89 million) were made in these projects to generate 7,317 jobs, registering an 85.8% and 51.7% YOY fall respectively.
The field of “other non-metal minerals” saw the highest number of establishment permits (4,068) and generated the highest number of jobs (76,669).
The highest amount of investment in these units was made in projects related to essential metals production with more than 898.23 trillion rials ($3.69 billion). The volume accounts for 17.8% of all investments to be made in projects, for which establishment permits were issued over the 10-month period.
Operating Licenses
A total of 5,878 operating licenses were issued during the period under review, which shows a 7.8% YOY increase. These projects created 109,706 jobs, indicating a 28% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.
East Azarbaijan Province with 418, Khorasan Razavi Province with 393 and Isfahan Province with 381 had the largest share of all operating licenses issued during the 10 months.
The southern Khuzestan Province, with more than 579.7trillion rials ($2.38 billion), attracted the highest volume of estimated investment in projects with operating licenses. The figure shows a whopping 6,884.6% upsurge compared with the similar period of last year and accounts for 39.4% of the total investments made in projects with operating licenses.
The number of such licenses issued for industrial projects located in free trade and special economic zones reached 400, indicating a meager 0.3% rise YOY. Close to 266.96 trillion rials ($1.1 billion) worth of investments were made in these projects to create 18,371 jobs, registering a 433.6% and 36.1% hike respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The field of chemical production saw the highest number of operating licenses, namely 796. The field of food and beverages production created the highest number of jobs (11,116) over the 10-month period.
The highest volume of investments in this regard was made in projects related to the production of coke and oil derivatives (707.45 trillion rials or $2.91 million), accounting for 46.4% 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 3,000, some 204 of which were for those located in free trade and special economic zones, indicating a 7.95% rise and 17.4% decline respectively YOY.
A total of 2,787 permits were issued for the operation of brownfield projects, 196 of which were located in FTZs and special economic zones, showing a YOY increase of 7.56% and 28.9% YOY, respectively.
Mineral Production Permits
A total of 512 mineral production permits were issued during the period, registering a modest 5.3% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
These permits created 4,160 jobs, which indicate a 5.7% rise compared with the same period of last year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of the projects stands at 39.04 million tons, which shows a 96.2% surge compared with last year’s corresponding period.
The provinces of Khorasan Razavi with 48, Fars and Isfahan with 403 each, Markazi with 36, Yazd with 33 and Kerman with 28 had the largest share of mineral production permits issued during the period.
Such permits issued over the 10 months under review created the largest number of jobs in Fars Province (422), Khorasan Razavi Province (389), Kerman Province (352), Isfahan Province (281), Yazd Province (262), East Azarbaijan Province (236) and Hormozgan Province (210).
The provinces of South Khorasan, Hormozgan and Khuzestan, with a total of 15.36 million tons, 3.13 million tons and 2.8 million tons, respectively had the highest volume of nominal extraction capacities.
A total of 425 exploration permits were issued during the 10 months. The figure shows a paltry rise of 1% compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Exploration costs stood at nearly 1.02 trillion rials ($4.19 million), registering a YOY increase of 8.4%.