The Fourth International Exhibition of Transportation, Logistics and Related Industries opened at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Sunday.
The event will run through Tuesday.
Roads Minister Mohammad Eslami, officials from the ministry’s affiliates and members of road, rail, air and marine transport unions, in addition to businesspeople and traders, attended the first day of the event.
Eslami said during the opening ceremony that by the end of the second term of President Hassan Rouhani in 2021, the government will have inaugurated about 2,000 kilometers of new freeways and highways.
“This year, we succeeded in gaining permanent membership in the Council for Rail Transport of the Commonwealth of Independent States. As a result, transits through the country will experience a boost in the near future," Eslami was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Iran became a permanent member of CIS Council for Rail Transport during the council’s 70th meeting in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on May 14-15.
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Latvia, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Iran are now permanent members of CRT.
Shahram Adamnejad, Roads Ministry’s deputy for transportation affairs, said that due to the underdevelopment of logistics industry in Iran, the country wastes resources worth 10 trillion rials ($78.74 million) every year.
According to Kheirollah Khademi, the head of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company of Iran, Iran’s current rail network extends over 13,945 kilometers while more than 3,000 kilometers of railroads are currently under construction.
Iran’s latest inaugurated rail project was Mianeh-Bostanabad railroad, a 132-kilometer-long route and part of a longer Mianeh-Tabriz rail project connecting East Azarbaijan Province to the national rail network launched by President Hassan Rouhani on Nov. 27.
The newly-inaugurated route is an important link along Iran’s East-West Transit Corridor—part of the famed Silk Railroad, according to Khademi, who is also a deputy roads minister.
Mianeh-Bostanabad railroad was one of the government’s five top rail projects in 2017.
The other four projects, namely Tehran-Hamedan, Malayer-Kermanshah, Maragheh-Urmia and Qazvin-Rasht, have since been inaugurated.
$14b to Complete Transportation Projects
Amir Mahmoud Ghaffari, Roads Ministry’s deputy for planning and resource management, says the ministry needs around 1.8 quadrillion rials ($14.17 billion) in financial resources to complete transportation infrastructural projects.
According to the official, the government has prioritized the completion of 11 freeway construction projects stretching over 1,247 kilometers collectively.
“Apart from these, contracts have been signed during the past three years for the construction of 1,130 kilometers of freeways which are currently undergoing studies,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Maritime Trade
Maritime transportation accounts for about 85% of Iran's international trade.
More than 95.31 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded at Iran’s 21 commercial ports during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 22) to register a 1.11% growth compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Latest figures published on the Ports and Maritime Organization’s website show non-oil goods accounted for 65.01 million tons of the total throughput, showing a 0.73% year-on-year rise.
The remaining 30.29 million tons pertained to oil products, indicating a 1.9% decline YOY.
Container loading and unloading declined by 44.03% to stand at 891,894 TEUs.
More than 48.23 million tons of commodities were exported from the ports under review and close to 21.2 million tons were imported during the eight-month period, showing a 9.75% and 9.94% growth respectively compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of 2.89 million tons of goods were transited through these ports during the same period to register a 42.88% decline YOY.
The 21 ports under study include Iran’s southern ports of Abadan, Imam Khomeini, Bushehr, Khorramshahr, Genaveh, Bandar Lengeh, Chavibdeh, Arvandkenar, Charak and Dayyer located on the shores of Persian Gulf, Shahid Rajaee, Shahid Bahonar, Qeshm and Tiab at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Jask and Chabahar on the coasts of the Sea of Oman and the northern ports of Fereydounkenar, Noshahr, Astara, Amirabad and Anzali on the shoreline of Caspian Sea.
Close to 47.98 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in Hormozgan Province’s Shahid Rajaee Port, registering a 3.21% rise compared with the similar period of last year.
Shahid Rajaee was the busiest port during the period under review. Non-oil goods accounted for 30.39 million tons and oil products for 17.5 million tons of the total, showing a 0.41% and 8.23% growth respectively year-on-year.
Located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s biggest container port.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out at Shahid Rajaee Port that also accounts for over 85% of all container throughput in the country.
According to Mohammad Reza Rezaei-Kouchi, the head of Majlis Development Commission, Shahid Rajaee Port has a 6% share in the region’s total container throughput per annum, ILNA reported.
