Iran’s 700m-ton transport hub, Chabahar rail progress in focus at SCO
Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh Malvajerd said on Friday that the country's unique position at the intersection of North-South and East-West transport corridors enables the annual movement of more than 700 million tons of goods, speaking at the 13th meeting of transport ministers from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in Kyrgyzstan.
Iran’s roads and urban development minister said on Friday the country’s strategic position at the crossroads of major transit corridors enables it to handle more than 700 million tons of goods annually, as Tehran seeks to boost its role in regional trade.
Speaking at the 13th meeting of transport ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Kyrgyzstan, Sadegh Malvajerd said Iran’s location along the North-South and East-West corridors provides unique transit potential.
“Sixteen commercial ports with a capacity of 273 million tons along the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, 15,000 kilometers of railway network, more than 250,000 kilometers of roads, and 26 land border terminals that ensure uninterrupted transit. This infrastructure enables the annual transportation of more than 700 million tons of various goods, and the volume of goods transiting through Iran exceeded 20 million tons last year.”
Sadegh Malvajerd pointed to measures taken by Iran to improve transport and transit efficiency, including commercializing regional transit corridor networks, coordinating border procedures with neighboring countries, deploying smart monitoring technologies, standardizing cargo transit procedures and using integrated corridor management systems.
She described the development of Chabahar Port in the southeast of Iran as a milestone in providing SCO member states, particularly landlocked countries, access to open waters.
“Establishing a rail connection between this port and Iran’s railway network in the coming months will be a turning point in the port’s international role.”
Sadegh Malvajerd also stressed the importance of digital transformation in simplifying logistics processes, saying Iran has implemented smart technologies in managing transit flows.
In her closing remarks, she expressed Iran’s readiness to deepen cooperation with SCO member states.
“We hope to jointly create conditions for exchanging knowledge and experience and discovering innovative solutions to address shared challenges in transport and transit. Together, we can build more resilient transport systems and enhance regional connectivity.”