The construction of Shahid Rajaee Port's new mechanized mineral terminal will allow vessels with a capacity of 150,000 tons to berth there, the deputy head of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran said on Tuesday.
Ali Hassanzadeh made the statement at a ceremony held on the occasion of a 50-trillion-rial (440 million) build–operate–transfer (BOT) contract signed between the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran and private sector for the construction of the terminal, which is said to be the biggest in the region.
Currently, vessels with a capacity of 60,000 tons are able to berth at Shahid Rajaee Port.
This will be the second such terminal as Life Trade Promotion Company signed an agreement with Sistan-Baluchestan Ports and Maritime Organization in May 2018 to establish Iran’s first fully mechanized mineral export terminal in Chabahar’s Shahid Beheshti Port.
“The establishment of the new terminal will reduce waiting time for vessels and increase ports’ productivity,” Hassanzadeh was quoted as saying by ILNA.
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.
Hassanzadeh said the project has three construction phases and the development of each phase takes three years covering 180 hectares of land, each spread over 60 hectares.
In addition, the project includes the establishment of a 15-megawatt power station.
The capacity of the terminal, which would also create 500 sustainable direct jobs, will reach 50 million tons per year upon the completion of the project.
Speaking with IRNA on the advantages of the new terminal, PMO Director General Allahmorad Afifipour noted that the terminal will facilitate the export of minerals and boost exports by reducing transportation costs.
According to Afifipour, the capacity of Shahid Rajaee Port’s current terminal is currently 14 million tons per year.
Addressing the ceremony, PMO Managing Director Mohammad Rastad told IRNA that the terminal will solve the current heavy port traffic and meet the rise in demand for steel exports. He added that the terminal will expedite export as it is mechanized.
“Total investments made by the private sector in the country’s ports so far stand at about 100 trillion rials ($881.05 million) and the new contract is a giant step in the development of ports’ capacities by attracting private sector investment,” he said.
Rastad also noted that the operational period of the contract is 33 years.
The new terminal has become the biggest mineral terminal in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, and will bring about a major development in Iran's mining industry, considering the country’s exceptional mineral capacity.
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.
Private Sector's Port Investments Double
Private sector investments in Iranian ports reached 13.54 trillion rials ($120 million) during the last Iranian year (March 2018-19), which shows a 102.15% upsurge compared with the previous year.
The investments were made in 18 projects, ISNA reported.
Iran’s private sector has invested 102.9 trillion rials ($900 million) in a total of 318 projects in Iran’s southern and northern ports during the last 10 years (March 2009-19).
The highest amount of investments over the past decade was made in the southern Shahid Rajaee Port with 28.27 trillion rials ($250 million).
It was followed by Imam Khomeini and Chabahar ports both in the south with 28.08 trillion rials ($247 million) and 26.35 trillion rials ($221 million) respectively.
Investments by Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization stood at nearly 16.25 trillion rials ($145 million) last year to register a 66.74% increase compared to the year before.
PMO’s overall investment during the past decade stands at 72.64 trillion rials ($640 million).
