TEHRAN- The Wednesday trip of the Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade to Yazd Province turned into a scene of decision-making and practical action in the field of production and industrial investment.
This trip, marked by a series of inaugurations of strategic projects, field visits, and the clarification of macro-policies, once again highlighted Yazd’s role as one of the main drivers of the country’s industry and mining.
Coinciding with the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations, this trip presented a coherent picture of the future direction of the province’s industry, focusing on localization, completing the value chain, developing clean energy, creating sustainable employment, and renovating damaged units.
Furthermore, during this one-day trip, the industrial and mining achievements of the province were showcased. The inauguration of Iran’s and the West Asia’s first and largest graphite electrode production plant in Ardakan was the most important achievement of this trip, demonstrating that Yazd is on the path to independent and smart industrial development and can reduce the country’s strategic dependencies.
Seyed Mohammad Atabak, the Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade, arrived in Yazd on Wednesday and was welcomed upon arrival by the provincial governor and a group of provincial officials.
During this trip, five prominent industrial and infrastructure projects became operational, and the minister visited Taft, Ashkezar, Ardakan, Bahabad, and Bafq counties.
He inaugurated a polymer granule production unit in Taft County. The annual production capacity of this unit is announced as 15,600 tons, and it plays a significant role in strengthening the regional production chain and employment.
Continuing his trip, the minister went to Khazraabad in Ashkezar and commissioned the largest solar power plant in Yazd Province with a capacity of 100 megawatts.
With an investment of over 50 million euros, this power plant annually produces 200 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity. In addition to reducing the energy imbalance for industries, it brings about significant savings in fossil fuel and water consumption and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, making it a prominent project in aligning industry with the environment.
The inauguration of Iran’s and the West Asia’s first graphite electrode production unit in Ardakan was the most important achievement of this trip—a strategic project that, according to the minister, has saved the country’s steel industry from a high-risk dependency.
Atabak added: “The steel industry is not an ordinary industry; it is an important indicator of countries’ development, and any path of industrial development requires steel.”
Referring to the challenges in the steel industry during the 2000s, he added: “One of the country’s biggest concerns was dependency on imported graphite electrodes for smelting furnaces; an issue that at times even caused several-fold price increases and threatened to halt production.”
The minister stated that the Ardakan electrode factory was one of the first projects he emphasized on accelerating its launch, saying: “Today, thanks to the efforts of managers, experts, and domestic investors, this strategic shortcoming has been resolved, and the country’s steel industry has achieved stability.”
The mentioned unit, with a 245-million-euro investment, has an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons (expandable to 60,000 tons) and directly employs 530 people. It is considered a symbol of overcoming sanctions by relying on domestic capabilities.
The Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade then headed to Bahabad and inaugurated the first phase of an iron concentrate unit with an annual capacity of one million tons.
MA
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