In order to integrate regional transport networks in Asia, all transport links (including railway, road and waterway) and transport nodes (including seaports, dry ports and intermodal interfaces) need to be fully developed, said the experts in the area who analysed the importance of the development of dry ports along the Trans-Asian Railway Network (TAR).
Iran benefits from sea ports linked to the national railway network and through the development of the North-South Corridor, the state will benefit from the connection of Bandar – Abbas Port to the international railway network.
Iran also has dry ports, the first and one of the most important being Aprin terminal, located 21 km south-west of Tehran capital. Aprin dry terminal is also strategically located at the junction of rail corridors East-West and North-South. It stretches on a surface of 100 hectares and has 110 cargo storage facilities, as well as different container storage capacities.
Aprin terminal continues to develop as new cargo handling and storage systems are currently in construction. The dry terminal serves both Tehran and its adjacent industrial regions, the annual average of handled goods reaching 5,000 TEUs. The goods are shipped by rail to Aprin terminal and then loaded and shipped to the Iranian seaports Imam and Shahid Rjaee. The terminal will also dispose of a facility for the repair of locomotives.
Over the past years, Iran has stressed the development of railway transport, of intermodal transport and of long-distance container freight transport, as well as the development of dry ports and has received the government’s support for that.
The Iranian Minister of Urban Deve-lopment Ahmad Sadeqi declared that the authorities are planning to invest in the development of the railway network in order to reach a total length of 20,000 km. At present, 10,000 km of line are operational.
The Port of Astara is also a strategic hub in Iran, being also part of the North-South Corridor. It is located in the Iranian pro-vince of Gilan and could be inaugurated as Iran’s first private port at the end of the Iranian year.
A dock with a capacity of 600 thousand tonnes could be soon finalized and the port also has a dry port. The loading and unloading capacity is estimated at 2.5 million tonnes. The port is built through a joint venture of the state and the private sector. So far, USD 20.4 Million were invested in this project aimed to facilitate trade between Caspian Sea countries.
Ataollah Sadr, Managing Director of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation, said that Iran had 14 ports of which four, including Astara, at the Caspian Sea.
In 2009, Iranian Shipping and KAVEH signed a contract for the construction of a new port in the city of Astara (at the border with Azerbaijan). The contract is in force for 40 years and the construction of the port should be realized in about 6 years.
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