Kermanshah Governor: Capacities Must Be Turned into Sustainable Wealth and Jobs

Kermanshah – Outlining the province's border, agricultural, industrial, and tourism capabilities, the Governor of Kermanshah named turning these capacities into sustainable employment opportunities and wealth creation a development priority for the region.

In a conversation with Mehr reporter, Manouchehr Habibi said, referring to the various economic capacities of Kermanshah: this province has a 371-kilometer common border with Iraq, six official borders and border markets, as well as extensive capabilities in the fields of agriculture, industry, tourism, trade, and transportation, and the province's management plan is to take advantage of these capacities to create sustainable employment and increase wealth.

Honoring the memory of high-ranking martyrs, he recalled the anniversary of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution's historic visit to Kermanshah in 1390 and added: This trip, which lasted for about 10 days, was one of the most important events in the history of the province, and during it, more than 1,200 construction, economic and deprivation plans were approved.

The governor of Kermanshah continued: The tropical system in the western regions of the province, the Kermanshah railway and its extension to Khosravi and Baghdad, the construction of the Iran Khodro factory, the construction of large and small dams and specialized hospitals were among the approved plans of this trip, the effects of which can be seen in various civil, economic, social and employment sectors.

Referring to the historical and cultural position of Kermanshah, Habibi said: According to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, this province is "the firm breast and beautiful face of Islamic Iran" and by presenting 10 thousand high-ranking martyrs, it has an important contribution in the history of resistance and holy defense. The defense that started from this area and ended in the Mursad Strait with the defeat of the Mufaqeen.

He mentioned Martyr Mohammad Saeed Jafari, Martyr Doukamizadeh, Martyr Haj Ramadan and Veteran Sarafaraz Hossein Mohammadi as well-known figures of sacrifice and resistance in the province and added: Kermanshah, in addition to its epic background, has also been the origin of prominent cultural, literary and artistic figures. Figures such as Ayatollah Najoomi, Mirjalaluddin Kezazi, Ahmad Azizi and Mohammad Javad Mohabbate.

Referring to the presence of the people of the province in the defense of the Islamic Revolution, the Governor of Kermanshah stated: The people of this region have been present in various scenes from the period of the eight-year holy defense to the 12-day war and the Ramadan war, and they continue to emphasize on supporting the revolution.

Stating that Kermanshah has ethnic and religious diversity, he said: About two million people live in 14 counties, 35 cities and more than 2,500 villages in the province, and the followers of the Shia and Sunni religions and the Ahl al-Haq community are present next to each other. The existence of two world-registered works of Bistoun and the historical cultural landscape of Oramanat are also among the other cultural and tourism capacities of the province.

Habibi considered the Khosravi border to be one of the most important routes for Arbaeen pilgrims and stated: As the oldest and closest route to Karbala and Atbat Aliyat, this border has a special place in hosting pilgrims, and more than 60% of pilgrims who pass through the route of Kermanshah province travel from this province.

He also pointed to the climatic diversity of the province and added: the weather conditions of Kermanshah are different in different regions; As Sanghar in the east of the province is considered one of the cold regions, the central regions have a moderate climate, Oramanat has special climatic characteristics, and Qasrshirin and Somar are among the hot regions of the province.

The governor of Kermanshah, referring to the province's sports capabilities and local food, said: heroes such as Arin Salimi, Atusa Golshadenjad and Yasin Khosravi have emerged from this region, and Kermanshah is also known as the "Creative City of Food"; A province where there are more than 100 types of native and local food.

Habibi considered the geographical location of Kermanshah as one of the advantages of trade and transit development and stated: The province is connected to two important markets, including the Arab regions of this country and the Kurdistan region, through the common border with Iraq. The location of Kermanshah in the transportation hub of the west of the country, access to neighboring provinces within two hours and proximity to several Iraqi provinces have also provided suitable opportunities for the expansion of industrial and commercial activities.

He said about the state of petrochemical projects in the province: Three petrochemical complexes are active in Kermanshah and three other projects are being implemented. Islamabad West Petrochemical 65%, Sanghar Petrochemical 60% and the second phase of Kermanshah Petrochemical 88% have physical progress and with the completion of these projects, the province's position in the country's petrochemical industry will be strengthened.

The governor of Kermanshah listed the annual production of about five and a half million tons of agricultural products, world registration works and border and tourism capacities as part of the province's capabilities and said: during the visit of the president and the government delegation to Kermanshah in May 1404, the amount of 38 thousand billion tomans of bank facilities and financial resources was approved to support industrial and production units.

Referring to the results of support measures in the production sector, Habibi added: Following these measures, 140 stagnant production units in the fields of industry and agriculture returned to the activity cycle and employment was created for 1,224 people. Also, within the framework of "Economic Wednesdays" program, 122 meetings were held with managers of production units and their issues and problems were followed up.

He announced the promotion of Kermanshah's position by 18 steps in the Government-Private Sector Dialogue Council and said: With this promotion, the province has moved away from the bottom ranks of the table and has reached a more favorable position.

The governor of Kermanshah considered agriculture to be one of the important bases of the province's economy and stated: There are about 950 thousand hectares of suitable agricultural and horticultural land in Kermanshah, and nearly five and a half million tons of crops are produced from these lands every year.

Referring to the position of agricultural production in the province, he added: Kermanshah ranks second in agricultural production in the country, and with the production of about one million tons of wheat per year, it is considered one of the most important provinces in this sector. Also, more than 30-40% of the country's chickpeas are produced in Kermanshah, and the province ranks second in the country in this product with the production of about one and a half million tons of sugar beet.

Habibi stated that reforming the cultivation pattern, moving from traditional agriculture to new and less water-intensive methods, accelerating the completion of downstream networks of dams, preventing illegal extraction of underground water, developing modern gardens and strengthening processing industries are among the plans of the province to increase agricultural productivity.

Referring to the progress of the tropical system, he said: More than 75% of this plan, which was approved during the visit of the supreme leader of the revolution to the province, has been put into operation, and its implementation has helped to increase the production of products such as sugar beet, wheat and corn.

The governor of Kermanshah also announced the implementation of the new gardens project in four thousand hectares of land in the west of the province and added: In order to protect underground water resources, about two thousand unauthorized wells have been blocked. According to him, this action has helped to increase the underground water reserves by about 85 million cubic meters and has provided the ground for rewatering some wetlands in the province.

Habibi continued: The satellite monitoring project known as "Green Farming" has also been started for intelligent monitoring of agricultural activities, and the set of measures taken has caused the agricultural position of the province to rise from the sixth to the fourth in the country within two years. He also announced that the amount of production of agricultural products in the province is about one million tons more than last year.

Emphasizing the role of borders in the economy of Kermanshah, he said: We have defined the province as a "gateway of pilgrimage and trade" and along the 371 km common border with Iraq, there are six official borders and active markets.

The governor of Kermanshah added: These crossings cover the connection with the Arab regions of Iraq and the provinces of Sulaymaniyah and Halabja in the Kurdistan region, and about 40% of the exports of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Iraq are made through the borders and bazaars of Kermanshah.

Habibi considered the border of Parvizkhan as the second transit border of the country and said: about two thousand trucks cross the borders of the province every day. Also, the Khosravi border is one of the busiest crossings in the country during Arbaeen, and more than one million traffic was recorded in this border during the last Arbaeen.

Regarding the support of the border dwellers, he said: The law on organizing border trade has been implemented in four cities of the province, and over the past one year, more than 1,500 billion tomans of the benefits of this law have been distributed among the border dwellers.

The governor of Kermanshah stated that 74,000 households have benefited from the benefits of the cross-border trade law, and added: The expansion of the implementation scope of this law to Qasrshirin and Gilangreb cities is also being pursued. Qasr Shirin Free Zone is following its activity in the vicinity of Parviz Khan border and attracting investors and importing foreign cars is one of the issues being pursued in this area.

Habibi named organizing markets and borders and making customs formalities smarter as other plans of the province to accelerate exports and increase trade exchanges and said: Kermanshah has various capacities in the field of rail, road and air transportation and currently more than 100 weekly flights are made in the province.

He added: Kermanshah railway to Tehran and Mashhad is active, and during Arbaeen days, rail routes from several other provinces to Kermanshah are planned. The location of the province on the route of the northwest corridor to the south of the country provides the possibility of establishing a transportation and commercial link between the port of Imam Khomeini (RA), southern ports, western provinces and the borders of Iran and Iraq.

The governor of Kermanshah announced the follow-up of the logistics village project in the west of the country in the province and stated: The location of this complex was done with the cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and it is supposed to be implemented on a land of 240 hectares.

He continued: The consultant of the project has started his studies and it is expected that the comprehensive studies of the project will be completed within the next month. Also, negotiations have been conducted with a number of private sector investors and the implementation of this project is followed through the participation of the private sector.

Habibi considered the development of renewable energies and the use of industrial capacity to be among the axes of the province's plan to help resolve the energy imbalance and said: four paths are being followed in this field, including the development of solar power plants, the use of self-supplying power plants of industrial units, the use of steam from power plants, and the use of fuel from waste.

Referring to the favorable conditions of sunlight in Kermanshah, he added: the construction of solar panels has started with the participation of the private sector and the use of government lands; Some of these projects have entered the circuit and other projects are also being implemented.

The Governor of Kermanshah noted: Administrative and executive bodies of the province are required to provide part of their electricity needs through solar panels. Also, large industrial units such as cement, petrochemical, polymer and refineries must use the capacity of self-sufficient power plants and existing generators to provide their energy needs.

Habibi said: Currently, two industrial units of the province produce about 66 megawatts of electricity through self-supplying power plants and cover their needs in this way.

He also explained about the use of steam from power plants: a part of the steam produced in gas and combined cycle power plants was previously released into the atmosphere without being used, but with the implementation of the new plan, 300 megawatts of electricity was brought into the circuit from this place; The plan was put into operation during the government week with the presence of the Minister of Energy.

Referring to the use of waste as fuel in the West Cement Factory, the governor of Kermanshah added: According to the agreement of this factory with the Kermanshah Municipal Waste Management Organization, part of the municipal waste is converted into fuel, and now 15 to 20 percent of the fuel required by the factory is provided in this way.

He considered this action to be the first experience of this kind in the province and said: The managers of the municipalities and cement factories in other provinces also visit this plan to examine this method and model it.

Habibi announced that the electricity production of the province is about 2,300 megawatts and added: A part of this electricity is consumed inside the province and the surplus is injected into the national grid.

The governor of Kermanshah, explaining the development priorities of the province, said: organizing border markets and increasing Kermanshah's share of Iran's exports to Iraq is one of the main plans of the province's administration. The goal is to increase the current 40% share of exports to Iraq from the Kermanshah route to 50-60%, and to achieve this, the organization of bazaars, the establishment of advanced equipment, and the acceleration of customs procedures are followed.

He listed the increase in the production of agricultural products as one of the other priorities and said: appropriate rainfall, fertile lands and the experience of the farmers of the province have provided the capacity to increase production and this issue will be pursued seriously.