TEHRAN- The head of Industry, Mining and Trade Department of Iran’s northwestern Zanjan Province announced that 665 permits for the establishment of industrial units have been issued in the province during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21).

Naser Faghfouri said the figure shows a 50-percent growth compared to that of the same period of time in the past year.

The official said these units are expected to create jobs for 15,296 persons.

According to the data released by Iran’s Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry, during the first half of the current year, 18,766 permits have been issued for establishing new industrial units in the country, which mark a 47-percent increase year on year.

As previously announced by the ministry, the issuance of permits for setting up industrial units in the country increased 16 percent in the past Iranian calendar year.

Most of the issued permits were related to the food industries; and Semnan, Qom, and Khorasan Razavi were the provinces receiving the highest number of permits.

Meanwhile, the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry has announced that 32.312 trillion rials (about $769.3 million) of loans has been paid to the industrial units throughout the country during the first half of the present year.

According to the ministry’s data, under the framework of a production and employment program, 2,010 units applied for the mentioned facilities in the mentioned six months, of which 1,087 units received facilities.

The mentioned program has been defined by the government to support small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) and also to help completion of semi-finished projects with over 60 percent of physical progress.

The government is obliged to create 11,000 job opportunities in the current Iranian calendar year by supporting industrial units and completing semi-finished projects.

MA/MA