Sadeghi: 70% of Physical Progress Achieved in Zanjan Industrial Projects Over Two Years

Zanjan – Zanjan Governor said existing infrastructure at the Shahid Shahriari Industrial Town still requires capacity development despite measures taken, while investment and industrial activity in Zanjan are growing.

According to Mehr reporter, Mohsen Sadeghi expressed gratitude to the economic activists and managers of the executive bodies at the meeting of the Seta Facilitation and Removal of Production Obstacles on Thursday afternoon: In a situation where the country is facing economic pressures and various threats, the continuation and increase of willingness to invest is one of the significant events that shows the hope of economic activists for the future and the country's capacities.

The governor of Zanjan, referring to the significant increase in investment in the industrial towns of the province over the past two years, said: despite economic pressures and external threats, the enthusiasm of investors for economic activity in the country is beyond expectations, and executive bodies should use this capacity to develop production and employment by speeding up decisions and removing obstacles.

He stated that the level of acceptance of investment in the country exceeded expectations, and added: This approach is worthy of appreciation and makes the task of the executive bodies in the field of facilitating investment, creating stability in the business environment and removing obstacles to production heavier.

The governor of Zanjan, referring to the examination of the issues and problems of the production units in this meeting, said: the issues raised by the economic activists were examined and executive decisions were taken about some of the problems.

Emphasizing the necessity of assigning tasks to issues in specific time frames, Sadeghi stated: the responsible institutions must announce the results of their actions and decisions to the vice president of coordination of economic affairs of the governorate so that the process of implementing the approvals can be continuously followed up.

He continued: If new obstacles are created in the way of implementing decisions or activities of production units, the issue should be raised as soon as possible and a decision should be made to resolve it. The decisions taken should also be able to be implemented, and simply proposing the issue and holding a meeting should not be considered as the end of the work.

The governor of Zanjan noted: Some of the problems of industrial units can be solved at the provincial level, while others need to be followed up at the national level. Therefore, it is necessary to differentiate between provincial and national issues and follow each issue according to its appropriate path.

Growth of investment and development of industrial activities in Zanjan

Referring to the investment process in the province's industrial estates, Sadeghi said: The review of the performance of the last two years shows that a significant part of the physical progress of industrial projects has been achieved in this period. In such a way that about 70% of the physical progress mentioned in the presented report is related to the last two years.

He considered this trend as a sign of the economic capacity of the province and the effect of the efforts of the executive bodies, economic institutions and private sector activists and added: the realization of this level of progress in difficult economic conditions indicates that with greater coordination and removal of obstacles, the development of industrial activities and increased employment can be provided.

Appreciating the efforts of managers and experts of executive bodies, industrial complexes and responsible institutions in the field of infrastructure, Zanjan Governor said: the realization of these achievements is not the result of the activity of one body alone, but the cooperation of various economic, executive, managerial and infrastructure sectors has played a role in it.

Emphasizing the necessity of continuing this process, he added: Although measures have been taken in the field of infrastructure and capacities have been provided to support production, these facilities are still not in accordance with the needs of industrial development and plans should be made to increase capacities.

Creating more than 11,000 job opportunities in the horizon of the development of the industrial town

Referring to the investment and development prospects of the industrial town discussed in this meeting, Sadeghi said: Based on the estimates provided, the capacity to create about 11,200 job opportunities is predicted in the horizon of the development of this town.

He added: The realization of this employment capacity is dependent on providing the required infrastructure, facilitating the process of land transfer, financing projects and removing implementation obstacles, and it should be provided with coherent planning to transform the predicted capacities into real opportunities for production and employment.

Emphasizing the need to pay attention to the infrastructural needs of industrial towns, the governor of Zanjan said: the development of industrial activities is not possible without the stable supply of infrastructure, and issues such as energy, water and other needs of production units should be considered according to the development plan of the towns.

He pointed out: In this context, some of the issues raised in the meeting have been examined and a decision has been made for them, but some issues related to the future development of the settlements need more specialized investigations and more coordination between the responsible institutions.

Referring to the change in financing conditions for production units, the governor of Zanjan said: The methods of providing financial resources needed by economic enterprises, especially in the Riyal sector, have faced important developments and it is no longer possible to rely solely on traditional methods and receiving bank facilities.

Sadeghi added: It is necessary for economic managers and production sector activists to familiarize themselves with new methods of financing and use new capacities to provide capital needed for projects.

Stating that the country's economic conditions have increased the need to review financing methods, he clarified: the use of new financial tools can help provide the resources needed by real producers and reduce some of the problems caused by liquidity restrictions.

The governor of Zanjan emphasized: production support should be such that the units with the capacity of activity and development do not leave the production cycle due to obstacles that can be removed and can take advantage of the available opportunities to increase production and employment.

Referring to the market capacity for the products produced by some industrial units, Sadeghi stated: According to the contents raised in this meeting, part of the products needed by the country are currently supplied from abroad; While providing the necessary conditions for domestic production, it is possible to reduce imports and save significant currency.

He added: In cases where there is a consumer market for industrial products, the obstacles to production must be identified and removed so that the investments made lead to an increase in production and supply of domestic needs.

Governor of Zanjan noted: The goal of all responsible institutions should be to complete the chain of economic activities and provide conditions that the investment will lead to product production, supply to the market and creation of added value inside the country.

Emphasizing the necessity of coordination between the executive bodies and the private sector, he said: production support should not be limited to partial measures, but all stages of an industrial unit's activity, from the provision of infrastructure and capital to the production and supply of products, should be taken into consideration.

Pointing to the necessity of continuous communication between managers of executive bodies and economic activists, Sadeghi said: Issues and problems raised by industrial units should be followed up through specific paths with the participation of responsible bodies.

He added: Some of the solutions for solving production problems have been examined in joint meetings between the government and the private sector, and it is necessary to turn the results of these discussions into executive actions and follow-up decisions.

Emphasizing that the process of implementing decisions should be continuously monitored, Zanjan Governor stated: In addition to identifying obstacles, the main concern in the current situation is the slow implementation of some provincial decisions and the prolongation of the follow-up process for issues that require decision-making at the national level.

He continued: "The matters that are under the jurisdiction of the province should be determined without delay, and issues that require national decision-making should also be followed up through the relevant authorities so that the production units do not remain in long and uncertain waits."

Supporting production along with compliance with environmental requirements

Emphasizing the necessity of practical support for production units, the governor of Zanjan stated: In difficult economic conditions, it is the duty of the executive bodies to make more efforts to solve the problems of economic enterprises and to provide the stable activity of production units.

Pointing to the importance of complying with environmental standards in industrial activities, Sadeghi added: supporting production and protecting the environment are not two issues that are in conflict with each other, and it should be done in such a way that the development of economic activities is accompanied by compliance with environmental requirements.

Referring to the visits made to some industrial units and paying attention to the measures taken in the field of environmental considerations, he said: Compliance with these requirements is important along with the continuation of economic activity, and units that strive to improve their operating conditions and comply with the relevant regulations should be supported.

The governor of Zanjan emphasized: While following the legal and environmental requirements, the responsible institutions should also help to remove the existing obstacles so that the production units can carry out their reform and development processes properly.

Appreciating the performance of the province's executive bodies, Sadeghi said: the efforts made in various departments are commendable and the evaluations show the favorable performance of the province's management system in some indicators, but the current conditions of the country require that the level of efforts and the quality of service delivery be improved more than in the past.

He added: under normal conditions, it is important to solve the problems of production units, but in the current situation, when economic enterprises are facing more restrictions and pressures, the need for effective support and speeding up decisions has doubled.

The governor of Zanjan noted: The ultimate goal should be to solve the real problems of producers, facilitate economic activity, increase production capacity and create sustainable employment. Therefore, managers of executive bodies should try to remove existing obstacles and prevent the creation of new problems while closely following the approvals.

Sadeghi expressed his hope that by following up on the approvals of this meeting, strengthening the cooperation between the executive bodies and the private sector and using the new financing capacities, the ground for accelerating the implementation of industrial projects, investment development and increasing employment in Zanjan province will be provided.