Strengthening domestic production to achieve self-reliance is the most important program that Iran is following up in its industry sector in a bid to nullify the effects of the U.S. sanctions on its economy.

To this end, the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 20) has been named the year of “Surge in Production”, and all governmental bodies as well as the private sector are moving in line with the materialization of this motto.

Regarding its significant role in the realization of the mentioned goal, the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry has already defined its main programs for supporting the domestic production in the current year.

The ministry’s seven main axes of the surge in production are going to be pursued under 40 major programs.

Developing technology and promoting knowledge-based industries, development of domestic production, managing imports and development of non-oil exports, improving the business environment, development of financing and investment and finally development of logistics are the seven major axes of the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry’s works in the present year.

In this regard, the development of industrial parks and supporting the units located in these areas is one of the major programs underway by the ministry.

While this program is being seriously pursued, lack of necessary infrastructure in the industrial parks is impeding their development, therefore, the creation of needed infrastructure in the industrial parks has been put on the agenda.

A number of measures have been already taken in this regard.

Earlier this month, the Iranian energy minister announced that water supply to the country’s industrial parks will be expedited.

Reza Ardakanian said, “Water is properly supplied to the industrial parks in the regions, where there is no shortage in terms of water resources, but for the areas with lack of water resources, we have started a program to plug up the illegal wells and pay some percentage of the resulted savings to the governorates of the provinces to be allocated to supply water to the industrial units.”

Also as announced last week by the spokesman of the Energy Ministry, 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new power capacity has been allocated to 24 substations in the country’s industrial parks.

Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi said that the development of electrical substations in the industrial parks is one of the prioritized programs of the ministry.

He further underlined the Energy Ministry’s approach for helping the development of industrial parks in the current year, which is the year of surge in production.

Such supportive measures are hoped to flourish activity in the industrial parks and provide the condition for the inactive units to come back to the production cycle.

An official with Iran’s industry sector has recently announced that 545 idle industrial units have been revived throughout the country since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20).

Asghar Mosaheb, the deputy head of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) for small industries affairs, also said that reviving the mentioned units has created jobs for 9,800 persons.

Saying that out of the 45,000 small and medium industrial units in Iran’s industrial parks, 9,500 units are currently inactive, the official announced that ISIPO plans to revive 1,500 units in the current Iranian year.

As the result of the 545 units coming back to the production cycle, the ISIPO’s plan for reviving the small and medium industries in this year has come true by 36 percent, Mosaheb noted, adding that the organization has planned to create 27,000 jobs through reviving such units in the current year, and by reviving the above-mentioned units, its plan in this due has been realized by 36 percent as well.

As previously announced by Mosaheb, ISIPO managed to revive 1,185 idle production units across the country during the past Iranian calendar year.

According to the official, the mentioned units returning to operation created direct jobs for 21,618 persons.

The ISIPO head has recently said that 21 percent of the country’s idle production units have been revived by the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry.

Mohsen Salehinia also said: "Despite all the limitations, we are currently witnessing an increase in production in some units for example those active in the field of home appliances; also, according to the plans made and by solving the problems in the way of the production and industrial units, we will realize the motto of “Surge in Production” by the end of this year.”