President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to break ground on Phase 3 of Shahid Rajaee Port, Iran’s biggest container port at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz in southern Hormozgan Province on Wednesday.
“The contractor of Container Terminal Number 3 of Shahid Rajaee Port has been chosen lately and its construction will begin in days,” the head of Ports and Maritime Organization, Mohammad Rastad, said.
Upon the completion of the terminal within three years, the port’s capacity will increase to 8 million TEU, the official said, adding that about 10,000 billion rials ($222 million) will only be invested in improving the infrastructure of the port, ILNA reported.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out in Shahid Rajaee. The port complex also accounts for over 85% of all container throughput in the country.
With 18 gantry cranes and 40 berths, Shahid Rajaee is the most advanced container port of Iran where 12,000 TEU-plus Panamax cargo ships can enter.
“Plans are to add 12 more gantry cranes as well as 15 transtainers to the second terminal of the port,” Director General of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization Allah-Morad Afifipour said.
Launched in 1985, the port has expanded every year thereafter. Today it is connected to 80 top ports across the world. The significance of this port lies in its large capacity, including its location in the Persian Gulf, container terminal, fuel bunkering, access to 24 kilometers of railroads and round-the-clock truck transportation.
Hormozgan Province, where Shahid Rajaee is located, has 32 active ports, including Shahid Bahonar, Jask, Lengeh, Tiab, Aftab and Kish, which act as backups to Shahid Rajaee.
According to Afifipour, more than 2.18 million TEUs of container goods were loaded and unloaded in Hormozgan Province’s Shahid Rajaee Port during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2017-Jan. 20), registering a 19% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
Container transship through the port during the period amounted to 216,588 TEUs, indicating a 51% rise year-on-year.
Container transit increased by 18% over the 10 months to reach 379,155 TEUs, indicating an 18% increase year-on-year.
