According to the Public Relations and International Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization, Mohammad Kabiri on Tuesday, 19 Aban, on the sidelines of the inauguration and commencement of execution of 21 projects with a total investment of more than 114 thousand billion tomans, held on the occasion of Kish Week and with the online presence of Masoud Pezeshkian, the President, Seyed Ali Madanizadeh, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, and Hossein Forouzan, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Free and Special Economic Zones, explained the details of the commissioned projects and the island's new projects.
Referring to the development of Kish's water and electricity infrastructure, he said: with private sector participation, 38.5 megawatts have been added to the capacity of Kish's gas power plant and 10,000 cubic meters to the island's daily water production capacity, so that with the commissioning of the new facilities, total water production capacity has reached 40,000 cubic meters per day.
Kabiri also announced the commissioning of the first phase of Kish's solar power plant with a capacity of 3.2 megawatts and added: according to the planned schedule, the island's solar power generation capacity will increase to 24 megawatts by the end of the government.
The CEO of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to the development of communication infrastructure, said: seven new telecommunications towers, one of which is on Hendurabi Island, have been commissioned, and this action helps improve network coverage and enhance the quality of communication services in Kish and Hendurabi.
He continued, outlining housing supply programs: the execution of two supportive housing schemes for locals and service housing has begun. In the service housing scheme, after achieving 20 percent physical progress, the offering of housing tokens will be put on the agenda, and the units of the locals' housing scheme will be transferred to eligible persons in the form of lease-to-own according to the relevant regulations.
Kabiri also announced the delivery of the first phase units of the Nik Tarab cooperative housing scheme, belonging to the island's public transport activists, by the order of the President, and added: four residential projects, including two supportive schemes and two partnership schemes, are in Kish's housing development programs, which are expected to create more than 12,000 indirect job opportunities during their implementation period.
The CEO of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to the inauguration of the island's first research and technology fund, said: this fund has been established with private sector participation, the Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy, and the Innovation and Prosperity Fund, and has made it possible to provide financial services up to three thousand billion tomans to Kish's knowledge-based companies.
Referring to the commissioning of industrial projects in the oil and gas sector, he added: industrial companies active and based in Kish have commissioned projects with a total investment of about 165 million dollars in sectors related to the oil and gas industry.
Kabiri also cited the opening of Kish's first hospitality school as another achievement of the ceremony and stated: the establishment of this complex has been carried out with the aim of developing specialized training and improving the quality of services in hotels and accommodation centers on the island.
In another part of his remarks, the CEO of the Kish Free Zone Organization, emphasizing the necessity of implementing Article 65 of the Law on Permanent Provisions of the Country's Development Plans, said: effective management in critical conditions and timely handling of businesspersons' issues requires free zones to have legal powers commensurate with their responsibilities.
He added: full implementation of Article 65 can, by strengthening integrated management, accelerate the process of addressing business problems and provide the ground for optimal use of resources to develop the island's infrastructure.
In conclusion, Kabiri, referring to measures taken to achieve integrated management in Kish, emphasized: although part of the legal capacities of Article 65 has been implemented in this region and Kish is considered one of the leading areas in this regard, there is still a gap until full implementation of this article and attainment of desirable management conditions.