Some $1.4b attracted in investment for ports development: PMO
Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) attracted 700 trillion rials (about $1.4 billion) of foreign and domestic investment for development of Iranian ports, announced Jalil Eslami, the deputy head of the organization.
According to the official, 200 trillion rials (about $400 million) of the figure will be invested by the country’s private sector as the remaining is supplied by foreign investors, IRNA reported.
Underlining the government’s serious determination for the development of the country’s maritime economy, he noted: “In this regard, a conference dubbed maritime-oriented development will be held by the PMO on the occasion of National Transportation Day on December 19.”
Referring to the current government’s measures to increase the loading and unloading capacity of Iranian ports, Eslami stated: “The realization of the general policies of maritime-oriented development requires the synergy of all executive, government and maritime bodies.”
While Iran is combating the US sanctions on its economy, the country’s ports as the major gates of exports and imports play a significant role in countering the sanctions. This role makes all-out support to ports and more development of them serious and vital.
Such necessity has led the government to define projects for more development of the ports and also take some measures to encourage investment making in ports, in addition to facilitating the loading and unloading of goods, especially basic commodities.
The PMO has defined a high number of projects to develop and improve the country’s ports, as the country aims to double the capacity of its ports in a course of five years.