Alis Holding CEO Ali Asghar Fayyaz emphasized that the current industrial development requires practical actions rather than mere verbal promises.

According to the public relations office of Alis Holding, at a meeting with the Deputy Planning Director of the Small Industries Organization and a member of the board of directors of Industrial Towns Company with entrepreneurs of Chenaran county, held in the conference hall of Alis’s manufacturing plants, Fayyaz stated: “The atmosphere of this session is very auspicious, as the independence of the country is forged in such environments. Considering that producers are currently in the economic battlefield, the public sector, as the steward of this domain, needs to have a mutual understanding of the common pains shared by industrialists.”

He pointed out the difficult economic situation of the country, noting that the goal of an industrialist, who uses all their material and spiritual reserves, is to serve the people, which is very valuable and stems from their beliefs. However, in the current situation, the breath of the producer is becoming short, and many problems hinder production, making it extremely challenging to operate in this field.

The CEO of Alis Holding continued: “For this reason, industrialists need the accompaniment and support of higher-level managers to serve the people as agents of the public sector.”

Fayyaz explained that the philosophy of establishing industrial parks is for the government to provide necessary services in these parks so that producers can plan for development without worrying about basic infrastructure. He noted that currently, infrastructural issues are a significant problem for industry owners, for instance, the provision of electricity has become one of the challenges facing the industrial sector.

Despite the numerous problems facing the industrial sector, there are currently three types of payments considered for supplying electricity to an industrial unit: production costs, transit costs, and charges, all of which pose more challenges to production.

Criticizing regulations that challenge industrial activities, the Alis Holding CEO stated: “Some of these decisions act like poison for the production body and officials must explain why such decisions are made in the absence of industrialists, and how producers are considered in these legislations.”

Fayyaz referred to the proverb “each year worse than the last,” stating: “For the production sector, it should be said that every day is worse than the previous, and those who, with poor planning, create many problems for producers, must explain these issues to industrialists.”

He emphasized that in today’s world, all the technologies of a production unit are electronic, and power outages cause serious damage to devices. Given the difficulty of maintaining devices under sanctions, these types of energy outages cause significant losses to production units. For example, in Alis’s production complexes, the production lines have faced issues several times due to power cuts, disrupting production for several days.

The CEO of Alis Holding added: “When the production line of an industrial unit, which employs thousands of workers, is shut down for a few days, the livelihoods of these families are threatened, which can have significant social consequences.”

Fayyaz highlighted other issues in industrial parks affecting settled units, noting that the Chenaran Industrial Park is one of the model parks in the country. Considering the critical importance of environmental protection, necessary actions for inaugurating its wastewater treatment plant should be prioritized.

He stressed that addressing the challenges in the industrial sector requires special wisdom, stating: “To solve all the problems, we must move beyond verbal promises and take practical actions, as industry requires daily attention. If this attention is not given, the production sector will lag in development, and an industry that lags in development is doomed.”

The CEO of Alis Holding emphasized that officials must manage the life of industrial parks and plan for the next 20 years. Every action taken should consider future generations, as we all have responsibilities towards the generations that follow us, even if we might not see them. Without this foresight, no sustainable investment will be made for the future.

Fayyaz also discussed the necessity of utilizing new and clean energies, mentioning that this interest exists among industries in the Chenaran Industrial Park, but the infrastructure must be provided by the public sector.

He pointed out the difficulties of gas supply for industries during cold seasons, stressing that whenever the weather turns cold, producers become anxious about when their gas will be cut off, causing production lines to stop. The authorities should manage the situation correctly to ensure the survival and advancement of the production sector.

The CEO of Alis Holding emphasized: “Creating jobs is a sacred task, and the government must increase investment attractions for individuals to ensure employment. If conditions are not improved, production will no longer be justified, and no one will pursue it.”

Fayyaz added: “Moreover, industrial units in the Chenaran Industrial Park pay significant amounts to the municipality as charges but do not receive the necessary services. For example, the streets of the Chenaran Industrial Park are in a terrible state, and the municipality must take serious action to resolve this issue.”

During the session, Mohsen Mahabadi, Governor of Chenaran, stated that the producers in the Chenaran Industrial Park are among the best and most noble producers. He noted that during last winter’s gas outages, some units suffered losses worth hundreds of millions, and this summer, the excessive heat caused power cuts, resulting in further losses, yet they did not protest.

He pointed out that approved plans often harm industries, mentioning the increase in electricity costs, issues in fulfilling foreign currency commitments, and other such problems that have caused many issues for producers. He stressed that according to this year’s slogan, efforts should be made to reduce inflation and increase production.

Governor Mahabadi highlighted that more than 340 industrial units are located in the Chenaran Industrial Park, which has investment attractions. However, they cannot meet the infrastructural needs of the industrial units, such as land, water, electricity, gas, and other requirements.

Mahabadi stated that some of the units in the Chenaran Industrial Park have a global reputation, and there should be efforts to support these industries and minimize their losses. Unfortunately, the only action taken by the local authorities so far has been verbal sympathy.

He stressed that those who continue production in this economic situation are passionate, and if it were otherwise, they would not think about development and job creation for a moment. We must help them, just as people were mobilized to support the warfronts during the war, everyone must now assist the soldiers of the economic front.

Governor Mahabadi continued: “If the situation persists, many producers may turn to brokerage instead of production, and the governing sector’s duty is to prevent this from happening and to take actions that encourage producers to think about development rather than leaving the industry.”

He stated that in some cases, they resort to the judiciary to remove obstructive laws and challenges, while supportive measures for the industry should be implemented swiftly and without coercion.

Mahabadi added that there are numerous challenges in providing some infrastructures, such as electricity, gas, wastewater treatment, and other similar issues, which in some cases have been resolved with the support of the Deputy Minister, but still do not meet the needs of industrial units. With the upcoming government visit to Khorasan Razavi at the beginning of next year, there are plans to use state travel funds to address these needs, hoping to take actions that reduce the challenges faced by producers.

During the session, Jafar Farshchi, CEO of Khorasan Razavi Industrial Towns Company, stated that there are many problems in providing production infrastructure in the country, and the Industrial Towns Company stands alone against all of them. He said that defending the interests of producers is this institution’s duty, and they are committed to doing so with strength, striving to persuade service providers, such as the Ministry of Oil, the Ministry of Energy, and others, to offer special services to producers.

Farshchi continued: “The Industrial Towns Company acts as a mediator between producers and service providers, and central planning is needed for service providers to prioritize the industry. Additionally, in some cases, the infrastructure in industrial parks has reached the end of its life and requires attention, and more cooperation is needed in this area with the Industrial Towns Company.”

Regarding the wastewater treatment plant in the Chenaran Industrial Park, Farshchi stated that due to the park’s development, studies were conducted, and the required funds for the wastewater treatment plant inauguration were estimated at 610 billion IRR. The tender was held, the contractor was selected, and practical work will begin in the first half of March.

Farshchi added that 2 trillion IRR is required for the Chenaran Industrial Park projects, and measures are being taken to secure this funding.

At the end of the session, Hassan Ghazanfari, Deputy Planning Director of the Small Industries Organization and a member of the board of directors of the country’s Industrial Towns Company, stated that the problems of all industrial parks are similar in the current situation. He said there are two approaches to solve these problems: the first is through administrative follow-ups and laws to create facilities for industrial development.

He continued: “In this approach, we must consider that our country’s resources are limited. For example, to meet the current gas demand, three new phases need to be established in South Pars, which is not possible under current conditions. Therefore, there is a disagreement on prioritizing gas supply in various sectors.”

The Deputy Planning Director of the Small Industries Organization stated that numerous discussions have taken place with service providers about prioritizing energy carriers for industries, as the Ministry of Industry believes that maintaining employment is far more important than residential priorities. Unfortunately, the voice of the industrial sector is very faint in this regard, and other sectors make more efforts to secure their share of energy, with household energy allocation taking higher priority.

Ghazanfari added that the second impactful approach is to popularize the economy, which has also been emphasized by the Supreme Leader. Companies can move towards using new and clean energies to meet their energy needs, thus solving their problems and generating revenue.

He explained that with the use of clean energy, such as solar power, industrialists can benefit from the elimination of energy management lists, meaning that by producing electricity from solar energy, they are no longer subjected to penalties from the Ministry of Energy.

He emphasized the need to manage consumption across all sectors, for instance, by implementing wastewater recovery plans and using solar or wind power to ensure the continuity of industrial activities.

The Deputy Planning Director of the Small Industries Organization stated that given the limited resources available in the Industrial Towns Company, agreements have been made in some provinces for certain funds collected from industrialists to be used for preparing and maintaining industrial infrastructure.

Ghazanfari stressed: “Although the Ministry of Industry does everything possible to support producers and will take every action within its power to develop the production sector.”