A group of senior administrative and transportation officials from China's Guangdong Province visited the port city of Bandar Abbas in the southern Hormozgan Province on Monday to review investment opportunities, IRNA reported.
The two-day visit by the Chinese delegation was aimed at interacting with the managers of public and privately-owned land and maritime transportation companies, visiting Shahid Rajaei Port and rail transport network, according to deputy governor of Guangdong, Zhigeng Liu.
In a meeting between the Chinese delegation and Hormozgan Province's transportation and development authorities, Zhigeng expressed satisfaction with the development of Shahid Rajaei Port, noting that more than 70,000 tons of goods are transported between Guangdong and Shahid Rajaei ports every year.
"China's major trade ports are located in Guangdong," said the Chinese official, noting that the province is connected with 320 ports in 100 countries, including Iran, through more than 300 large and medium-sized ports, the largest of which handles 50 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) per year.
Guangdong Province is located on the South China Sea coast and is the most populous province in China. It is also the richest provincial region in China in terms of total GDP.
Meanwhile, officials from the provincial Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) elaborated on the investment opportunities in Iran's southern ports and expressed hope that trade between the two countries will expand in future.
"Development of transshipment activities; construction of logistic, transit and refrigerated terminals; construction of factories and grain silos; building small refineries, power plants and water treatment plants," were among the sectors proposed for domestic and foreign investment, according to PMO deputy director for port operations, Mohammad-Ali Saeedipour.
Shahid Rajaei Port in Bandar Abbas is Iran's largest commercial port, handling about 90% of maritime trade, according to Hormozgan Province deputy governor for developing affairs, Babak Trakemeh, who added that Iran's largest shipbuilding company is located in Bandar Abbas.
Noting that currently five direct shipping lines are active between Iran and China, Trakemeh said a memorandum of understanding was drafted to expand trade between Bandar Abbas and the ports of Guangzhou and Shenzhen in China, without further elaboration.
