TEHRAN,Iran, July 2
Trend:
Iran provides incentives for foreign and domestic investors in the Maku Free Zone (West Azerbaijan Province), Managing Director of Maku Free Zone Mohammad Reza Abdolrahimi told Trend.
"Maku Free Zone is providing significant incentives to investors that includes a 20-year tax exemption for all activities in all sectors and no visa obligation for foreign citizens, no custom charges for production units that import basic materials and machinery," he said.
"Production units that import basic material and export products to original source, will also receive custom discounts," Abdolrahimi added.
"There would be no limit for joint cooperation with foreign investors and foreign investors can register a company and government would secure their investments," he said.
Abdolrahimi noted that Maku Free Zone has certain advantages compared to other zones, such as easy and cheap access to European and Central Asian markets.
"There is possibility of daily flights from Tehran to Maku Free Zone airport, the gas pipelines in the zone would supply the gas to industries in the region. The industrial cities are prepared to assign infrastructure facilities to investors. The region is close to Tabriz, one of the biggest industrial centers in the north west of Iran and near Bazargan border one of the important borders between Iran and Turkey," he said.
"The vast lands and its natural attractions have the capacity to attract investments in industrial, agricultural, livestock farming and tourism sectors," Abdolrahimi added.
Also, he said that the zone has its benefits as far as agriculture sector is concerned: a total of 12 dams are being installed in the zone, that include the Maku dam, Shahid Qhanbari, Danalou, Aras, Ghigaj, Karamabad dams that are close to extensive plains.
"Vast grasslands, herbs, aquatic diversity are all beneficial for industrial livestock farming, greenhouse cultivation, and development of herbal medicines," he said.
"In terms of logistic capacities and transportation, Maku Free Zone also has valuable capacities and Iran-Turkey railway projects in Cheshme Soraya route can connect to the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)," Abdolrahimi said. "It is expected that cargo transit through this route would be 3 to 4 million tons per year and can be of great advantage to investors," he said.
"The volume of daily transportation of trucks carrying goods through Maku Free Zone is more than 1,000 and the trucks have the capacity to load and unload 300 tons per day at the Bazargan customs," he said.
"The export terminal in the Maku Free Zone has the capacity of exporting more than 34,000 tons of good per day," said Abdolrahimi.