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Iran’s maritime transit up 49% since March
Ali Akbar Safaei, deputy minister of Roads and Urban Development and the managing director of the PMO, stated that the country’s sea trade reached 237 million tons in the aforementioned period compared to 215 million tons in 2022. The sea trade also saw a 10 percent growth with 60 million tons of trade within the three months period compared to the same period in 2023. Similarly, non-oil exports had 56 percent growth compared to last year.
As the government is changing hands in Iran, Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development announced these figures as part of a report on its performance in the ports and maritime since it assumed power in August 2021 during a press conference, according to Mehr news agency. In the press conference, Safaei added the organization has a comprehensive approach towards the development of Iranian ports for balanced growth in all sectors.
He reported that Iran’s trade with Russia and Kazakhstan has grown by 70 percent through the northern Nowshahr Port, by 45 percent through the Amirabad Port, and by 30 percent through the Anzali Port. The main import from these two countries is grain.
The promotion of trade with the neighboring countries is further indicated in the country’s transit volume of 16 million tons since March 19, 2024.
In attracting foreign investments, Safaei noted, the PMO has secured contracts with five countries including India that invested $120 million for equipping and operating the Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar. Also, the PMO has facilitated the attraction of domestic investments through the revision of rules and regulations.
The PMO’s plan for increasing the nominal capacity of ports included 167 projects worth over $733 billion, which has led to a 20 million tons increase in port capacity since the last Iranian calendar year.
Additionally, facilitation of the business environment has been another important initiative in the PMO mainly through the unification of software networks involving maritime, port, financial, engineering, etc.
Previously, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development set three main priorities of the Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) for 2024. Based on these missions, three strategies of “sea-based economy”, “transit”, and “logistics management” will be primarily followed up by the PMO this year.