Some 10 trillion rials have been invested in upgrading port facilities, said Iran’s Ports and Shipping Organization director general for transit and tariff affairs.
Mohsen Sadeqifar elaborated that all port equipment and facilities are available domestically, reported IRIB.
Removing the obstacles and amending the regulations are necessary to expand transportation of goods by ship, he observed.
Currently, about 14 international shipping lines operate to and from Iranian ports, he said, adding port costs are 10 percent lower in Iran compared to the rates in regional countries.
The official put the ports’ cargo handling capacity at over 110 million tons, noting that 98 percent of commodities are imported to the country by sea.
About 10,000 ships with capacities of over 1,000 tons call at Iranian ports annually, he pointed out.
With the inauguration of the second dock at Shahid Rajaei Port, the official said, its capacity has increased to three million TEUs of containers from 1.5 million.
Sadeqifar predicted that the capacity would reach six million TEUs within two years.
In addition to the privatization of Fereidounkenar (in the Caspian province of Mazandaran) and Genaveh (in southern Bushehr province) ports, all port services have been handed over to the private sector. Privatization of the shipping sector has also begun, he concluded.