Exports from Iran special, free zones reach $17bn: Official
An Iranian official in charge of free trade and special economic zones says the value of exports from those areas into other countries reached a total of $17 billion in the year ending March 19.
Morteza Bank said on Saturday that special economic zones (SEZ) and free trade zones (FTZ) had also sent some $5 billion worth of their goods and products to mainland Iran over the past calendar year.
Bank said that manufacturing and business schemes were thriving in special and free zones like never before, adding that the number of new jobs created in those regions exceeded 36,000 in the year ending late March.
He said the government aims to finish a total of 310 key projects in SEZs and FTZs till March 2021 to add between 40,000 to 45,000 new jobs in those areas.
Bank said a bulk of new investment injected into free and special zones normally come from private Iranian investors, adding a total of nearly $1 billion worth of new investment had been carried out in those regions over the past calendar year to set up various manufacturing and business schemes.
He said, however, that foreign direct investment into Iranian SEZs and FTZs had decreased last year to stand at $140 million with American sanctions being a main reason.
Iran’s High Council of Free Trade & Industrial and Special Economic Zones has been in charge of efforts and government plans to increase manufacturing output in those regions where firms and businesses enjoy lower tariffs and duties.
Interest in Iranian SEZs and FTZs has grown substantially over the past years as the country has been shifting away from oil revenues to boost manufacturing and trade, especially in areas more favorable to the investors.
The country aims to reach a target of nearly $40 worth of exports for non-oil goods and services in the next two years.
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