TEHRAN – Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) plans to revive 1400 idle production units by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2020), IRNA reported on Monday, quoting a deputy with ISIPO.

“Following a program for boosting domestic production, ISIPO managed to revive 529 idle production units in the first six months of the current calendar year and the number is planned to reach 1400 by yearend,” ISIPO Deputy Head Ali Asqar Mosaheb told IRNA on the sidelines of an SME and startups event in Alborz Province.

Noting that one of the approaches through which ISIPO is planning to help inactive units get back in the production cycle is to see their knowledge and technology needs.

“The country’s technology units and scientific and research centers have come to believe that they can help the industry and that the industry can use their potentials and capacities,” he said.

According to the official the Industry Ministry plans to revive 2000 idle units by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020) of which 1400 units are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME).

Elaborating on ISIPO’s programs for reviving idle SMEs, the official said: “Last year, a successful plan for reviving production units was implemented, in which, despite targeting 1,000 units for reactivation, ISIPO was able to bring 1,726 small industrial units back into production.”

Back in August, Deputy Industry Minister Saied Zarandi had announced that the ministry allocated 15 trillion rials (about $357 million) for reviving 2000 idle production units across the country.

Earlier that month, ISIPO head had also announced that the organization was following major programs in order to revive idle units and to help them to get back into the business.

Speaking in a press conference Mohsen Salehinia mentioned some of his organization’s plans for supporting SMEs, noting that the industry ministry was also fully supporting ISIPO’s efforts in this regard.

“Although the SMEs have the potential to provide nearly 900,000 job opportunities across the country, currently 22 percent of the SMEs are idle and there are only 710,000 people working in active units,” Salehinia said.

EF/MA