BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 4
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
There are 1,841 industrial enterprises operating in the Semnan Province in northern Iran, Chairman for Industry, Mining and Trade Organization in Semnan Ali Teshnedel said, Trend reports citing the organization’s website.
According to Teshnedel, 76 trillion rials (about $1.8 billion) have been invested in these enterprises.
Teshnedel added that these enterprises employ more than 68,000 people.
The official said that the lack of water in the province has also affected the activities of these enterprises. Thus, enterprises are not able to operate on maximum capacity. In addition, water shortages have led to the inability of some industries, including the food and steel industries, to operate in the province.
"However, Semnan has great potential in the mining sector, and it is necessary to make maximum use of the mining sector of this province," he said.
According to the official, 60 percent of Iran's salt, 40 percent of gypsum, 95 percent of zeolite, 95 percent of celestine, 40 percent of sodium sulfate, 20 percent of chromite 20 percent and 15 percent of the coal is produced in Semnan.
There is shortage of water in Iran's Central plateau, mainly in the province of Semnan. A number of projects to transport water to this province, including the project to transport water from the Caspian Sea, are being investigated.