TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, 45 idle industrial units are planned to be revived in Iran’s northwestern Ardebil province by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2022).

Masoud Emami Yeganeh, the governor of Ardebil, said that these units returning to the production cycle will create jobs for 680 persons.

The official said that 28 idle units were revived in the province in the past year, which created jobs for 700 persons.

The governor of Ardebil considered it necessary to support production units, provide the necessary infrastructure and revive stagnant units and said using the full capacity of production units that have the necessary infrastructure by providing facilities and removing other production barriers is one of the priorities of the industrial sector this year.

Referring to the creation of employment in small production units, the official said: "Support for these units has been considered and good measures such as providing facilities and infrastructure for them have been taken in the province”.

Creating sustainable employment in deprived areas is one of the main priorities of the provincial officials, and it is planned this year to provide the ground for economic prosperity in this province by implementing job creation plans, he added.

As announced by the head of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO), 240 idle industrial units have been revived in the country since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21).

Emphasizing that one of the most important programs of the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade is to activate the semi-active and stagnant units, Ali Rasoulian said that reviving 1,600 idle and semi-active industrial units in the industrial parks and zones is targeted for this year.

With the revival of each idle industrial unit, 26 job opportunities will be created, which is expected that more than 100,000 jobs will be created in the country this year through the return of industrial units to the production cycle, the official stated.

Last year, 1,557 stagnant and semi-active units returned to the production cycle in the industrial parks with a financing of 35 trillion rials (over $833 million), providing employment for 27,000 people, the ISIPO head further said.

With the aim of reactivating stagnant units or units that are operating below capacity, 900 consultants from the private sector and knowledge-based companies were selected in the form of industry clinics across the country to recognize the weaknesses of these units, Rasoulian has previously stated.

“Despite the two major challenges of sanctions and coronavirus pandemic, which imposed severe restrictions on the country, we tried to activate domestic capacities by turning to localizing the technology of manufacturing parts and equipment”, he added.

Sanctions have caused problems for financial exchanges and the export of goods to other countries, he said, adding, “The negative effects of coronavirus pandemic on various parts of the country, including industry, are not hidden from anyone, and the economic growth of some countries has reached below zero during this period.”

Iran is proud that despite these restrictions and pressure from these two important challenges, its industry has grown by more than seven percent, according to the statistics and reports from various sectors, the official further highlighted.

Also, as announced by Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mehdi Sadeqi Niaraki, over 6,500 new industrial units were established across the country during the past year which created jobs for over 121,000 people.

Touching upon the Industry Ministry’s plans for the realization of the motto of the current year which is named the year of “Production: support and the elimination of obstacles” by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the official has said: “In the year that has been dedicated to the production sector by the Leader of the revolution, the orientation of all government organizations and executive bodies should be towards supporting the country’s industrial and mining units.”

Niaraki pointed to a 40-percent increase in the issuance of establishment licenses for industrial units in the previous year, saying: “The number of establishment licenses increased to more than 36,000 last year, which shows that people are encouraged to invest in the productive sectors.”

He also mentioned an 85-percent rise in the allocation of land for establishing industrial units across the country and noted that over 4,500 hectares of land were handed over to applicants in the previous calendar year.

According to the official, there are over 46,000 small and medium-sized industrial units in Iran’s industrial parks and zones, of them about 9,200 units are inactive.

MA/MA