By APD writer Muhammad Sohail

Iranian Industry Minister Reza Rahmani said nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars worth of imports in the country’s industrial sector will be prevented by March 2023 by replacing them with domestically-made products.

Reza Rahmani made the remarks during the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO)’s annual general assembly on Sunday, IRIB reported.

The official noted that the industry ministry is following seven major programs in the current calendar year, one of which pertains to the mining sector and it includes activating small mines, completing production chains, exploration and etc.

According to the IMIDRO’s annual report which was presented in the gathering, the organization is planned to inaugurate over $4 billion worth of projects by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2020).

With the mentioned projects going on stream, more than 4,000 job opportunities will be created across the country, according to the report.

The report also put the value of inaugurated projects in the past Iranian calendar year at about $2 billion, which had also created jobs for 3,800 people.

According to the report, IMIDRO's subsidiaries exported more than $9 billion worth of different commodities in the past Iranian calendar year of 1397 (March 2018-March 2019), accounting for 20 percent of the country’s total non-oil exports.

Boosting production, creating jobs, providing infrastructure and making joint venture with the private sector have been underlined as the main pivots of IMIDRO’s policymaking.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)