Turkey establishes organized industrial zone in Iran

Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Chairman Muhsin Celalpur has said the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) will establish an organized industrial zone (OIZ) made up of 140 units in Iran. Speaking to Iran's official news agency IRNA, Celalpur said in the first phase of the establishment of the OIZ, $10 billion would be invested, 85 percent of the labor force in the zone would be Iranian and the 15 percent would be Turks. Moreover, Celalpur said construction of the industrial units would start in the second half of this year.

In addition, the vice chairman of the ICCIMA, Ali Yezdani, underlined that this is the first time a foreign state would establish an OIZ in Iran, despite foreign actors taking various roles in industrial zones in the country.

Yezdani also said they held negotiations with other countries, such as China and Russia, to start OIZ construction work in the regions of Jask and Bam. Yezdani also reported that they came up with an offer to the ICI regarding the founding of an industrial zone and a special economic zone in the provinces of Markazi, Ardabil, Semnan and Hamadan, saying that their offer was accepted. Yezdani drew attention to the offer they made to the ICC, which involves construction of seven industrial and special economic zones, which are very close to energy transmission lines, the airport and other lines of transportation.

Regarding the issue, ICI Chairman Erdal Bahçıvan made a written announcement, saying they are starting the necessary work to establish a labor commission, and they hope the project leads to qualified collaborations.