Tehran was host to a conference on heavy transportation titled “Heavy Iran 2016” last week. Representatives of international heavy transportation companies and experts participated in the event, which was held at Novotel Hotel on the premises of Imam Khomeini International Airport to the south of the capital city of Tehran. The event was aimed at exploring business opportunities in Iran, following the removal of western sanctions against the country over its nuclear program, the Financial Tribune learned. Also present at the conference were Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi and officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways. Last month, Switzerland-based International Transport Journal reported that the first heavy goods vehicle groupage transport services from Europe to Iran were launched by DB Schenker—a division of German railroad company Deutsche Bahn AG that focuses on logistics. The report said the first trucks left Salzburg, Austria, and arrived in Tehran after a 10-day trip. The goods are reportedly consolidated in Austria and hauled via the Balkan states and Turkey up to the Iranian border. The cargo that the HGVs conveyed included around 22 tons of infrastructure material for the construction of a steel plant in Iran. The report noted that DB Schenker has also resumed air and sea freight services to Iran and that the company is now preparing rail freight offers and wants to establish its own national affiliate in Iran.
