A cargo shipment en route from Ningbo Port in China’s eastern Zhejiang Province is scheduled to arrive at Iran’s northern Caspian port in Bandar Anzali, Gilan Province, on Dec. 9.
According to Anzali Free Trade Zone CEO Reza Masrour, the shipment, which consists of 44 40-feet containers loaded with industrial engine parts, auto brake pads, wallpapers and bicycle parts, has traversed the China (Urumqi)-Kazakhstan (Aktau Port)-Iran (Caspian Port) Multimodal Transportation Corridor, the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad reported.
The official added that the shipment has been transported through China-Kazakhstan Railroad and unloaded in Aktau Port. The cargo was then loaded onto Dorita Ship sailing under the flag of Iran and sailed through the Caspian Sea to arrive at Bandar Anzali’s Caspian Port.
“The abovementioned multimodal corridor was earlier used to transport cargo from central and western China to Iran. This time, the corridor is being used to transport freight from the easternmost regions of China to Anzali, which speaks of the advantages this route can bring to transportation between the countries involved,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Masrour, China-Kazakhstan-Iran Multimodal Transportation Corridor significantly reduces the distance, time and cost of trade compared with the currently used route that covers the Yellow Sea, Indian Ocean and Bandar Abbas.
China-Kazakhstan-Iran Multimodal Corridor, which is among the international projects to revive the Silk Road, was officially launched on June 26 this year with the arrival of an Iranian vessel at the Caspian Port.
The corridor starts off as a rail route from Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region in the far northwest of China, and reaches Kazakhstan’s Aktau Port, located on the east bank of the Caspian Sea.
The goods are loaded onto vessels before they are transported to the newly launched Caspian Port in Anzali Free Trade Zone.
According to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development's website, the first vessel contained 40 containers loaded with automotive spare parts, which arrived at the Caspian Port after crossing the corridor’s multimodal rail-marine route.
First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said the revival of Silk Road can play a key role in the development of Iran, adding that Iran is keen to enhance commercial ties with China and Central Asian states to help strengthen its domestic economy.
