According to the Public Relations and International Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization, the 101st Kish Administrative Council meeting was held with the presence of the CEO of the Kish Free Zone Organization, the Friday Prayer Leader of Kish, executive managers and members of the island’s administrative council, and matters related to economic development, investment, vital infrastructure and tourism prosperity were reviewed.
In this session, Mehdi Moslemkhani, Deputy for Urban Development and Infrastructure Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization, presented a report on the process of resolving major and long-standing projects, actions taken in the energy sector and infrastructural development plans, and Ali Hasanlou, Deputy for Tourism of the Organization, described Kish’s tourism performance in 1404 and the upcoming plans to strengthen the island’s position in the tourism industry.
Resolving Major Projects and Returning Investment to Kish’s Economic Cycle
Mehdi Moslemkhani, Deputy for Urban Development and Infrastructure Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to the organization’s approach to activating the island’s investment capacities, stated: Since the beginning of the current management period of the Kish Free Zone Organization, resolving major and long-standing projects that had been halted in different periods for various reasons has been pursued as one of the main priorities so that these schemes return to the island’s economic cycle.
He added: In the process of reviewing these projects, more than 32 major cases were identified whose total years of stoppage exceeded 410 years and the initial rial value of this group of projects was estimated at over 200 hundred trillion rials; this figure pertains to the beginning of the case reviews and has not been updated.
The Deputy for Urban Development and Infrastructure Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization continued: After identifying these cases, a Commission for Removing Obstacles to Major and Long-Standing Projects was formed and, with the cooperation of supervisory bodies including the Supreme Audit Court, efforts were made to carefully pursue the review process, obstacle removal and reaching legal agreements between the organization and investors.
Moslemkhani emphasized: Last year, more than 18 of these cases reached a result and the necessary agreements to resolve their issues were made. These projects included more than 293,000 square meters of land and 84,000 square meters of built area and their rial value is estimated at about 110 hundred trillion rials.
Referring to the volume of expert actions carried out, he said: More than 70 percent of the Deputy for Urban Development’s time last year was spent reviewing, following up and removing obstacles to these projects and to reach a common point among the organization, investors and supervisory bodies, more than 25,000 person-hours of expert and managerial work were performed.
The Deputy for Urban Development and Infrastructure Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization noted: Despite the country’s special conditions and the events that occurred, the project review process did not stop and even during the twelve-day war and Ramadan the organization’s focus was on continuing the development path and planning for the post-war period.
He added: In the early months of 1405 the review process continued and four more cases were concluded which, after completing the procedures related to supervisory bodies, will be added to the actions taken.
Moslemkhani stated that so far 22 cases out of the total 32 have been concluded and said: The organization’s goal is that the remaining 10 cases will also be resolved by the end of 1405 so that the island’s major projects will be on the path of execution, production and economic activity.
He emphasized: Returning these projects to the economic cycle can, as one of the drivers of the island’s development, pave the way for renewed momentum in investment and employment.
Expanding Energy Capacity and Planning for the Stability of Kish’s Power Grid
Moslemkhani continued, referring to the Kish Free Zone Organization’s programs in the energy sector: Increasing power generation capacity through a gas power plant and the development of clean energies are important programs for 1405.
He added: The program to increase about five megawatts of gas power plant capacity and more than 24 megawatts of solar power generation capacity had begun last year and is in progress.
The Deputy for Urban Development and Infrastructure Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization continued: Due to the war and the resulting import limitations, part of the plans were delayed, but the required equipment for the solar power plant has been brought to the island and a three-megawatt capacity is on the verge of connection to Kish’s power grid.
He said: The organization’s plan is that by the end of 1405 about 15 megawatts of solar energy will be added to the island’s power generation capacity and also 11 megawatts of new generation capacity will be put into operation by the end of Shahrivar.
Moslemkhani also, referring to the importance of maintaining grid stability, added: Alongside expanding production capacity, energy consumption management is also of special importance and the cooperation of the public and various island entities during peak consumption hours will help preserve grid stability.
He noted: The effort of electricity producers on the island is to maintain stable service conditions and planning to reduce imbalance and ensure continuity of energy supply continues.
Continuation of the Path to Tourism Boom and Development of New Markets for Kish
Ali Hasanlou, Deputy for Tourism of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to the island’s tourism conditions in 1404, stated: After the end of the 12-day war, the country’s tourism industry and especially Kish faced special conditions and some activists in this field suffered economic damages, but with the planning carried out the path to restoring stability to the island’s tourism was pursued.
He added: One of the important issues in developing Kish tourism is creating a shared perspective among national decision-makers regarding the island’s position; because matters such as flights, tourist entry and developing Kish’s tourism require special attention commensurate with the island’s specific conditions.
The Deputy for Tourism of the Kish Free Zone Organization continued: The strategy for developing Kish tourism was pursued on the basis of three main axes including a new narrative of Kish, development of access and flights, and strengthening events and festivals, and this path will continue in 1405 as well.
Hasanlou, pointing to the importance of tourism in the island’s economy, said: Tourism is not limited to hotels, recreational centers or agencies, but is a wide economic chain that directly affects about 11 occupational groups and its indirect effects encompass various parts of the local economy.
He added: The goal is to attract tourists who, in addition to being present on the island, cause a boom in the local economy; because a standard tourist can circulate more financial resources in the island’s various economic sectors.
The Deputy for Tourism of the Kish Free Zone Organization, referring to the necessity of diversifying the tourism economy, stated: The island’s economy should not be limited to one type of tourism and developing cultural, educational, commercial tourism and attracting diverse tourist groups are important programs of the organization.
Hasanlou noted: Last year’s experience showed that the island’s economy is strongly linked to tourism and a decrease in travel and tourist arrivals can affect various economic sectors; therefore increasing economic resilience and developing different types of tourism are on the agenda.
He, referring to support measures in 1404, said: 15 million-toman facilities were considered last year with the aim of facilitating travel, increasing tourist arrivals and helping financial circulation in the island’s various economic sectors.
The Deputy for Tourism of the Kish Free Zone Organization continued: With the implementation of development programs, September 1404 recorded the highest hotel stay rate since 1396 and in autumn 1404 the record for autumn hotel stays in Kish was also set.
He added: In the field of developing international tourism, flight routes to Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Tajikistan and Muscat were launched or strengthened and negotiations for developing new routes including regional destinations continued.
Hasanlou, referring to the reopening and reactivation of tourism complexes after the wartime conditions, said: Efforts were made with the cooperation of various sectors for accommodation and recreational complexes to return to the cycle of activity and provide the grounds for the tourism boom to resume.
He emphasized: Tourism development is the product of the cooperation of all pillars of the island and from executive, service and security agencies to the private sector and economic actors, locals, Kish residents and every entity have a role in realizing this goal.
The Deputy for Tourism of the Kish Free Zone Organization concluded: In 1405 the organization will continue the path of tourism boom on the island with a focus on developing tourism markets, increasing access, strengthening events, attracting new tourists and supporting economic actors.