TEHRAN – Director-general of Imam Khomeini Airport City (IKAC)’s customs office said exports from the airport increased by 126 percent during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20), year on year, IRNA reported.

According to Gholamreza Safari Taheri, some 1,284 tons of goods worth $231.318 million were exported from the IKAC customs in the mentioned three months, registering a 126 percent rise in terms of value compared to the same period of the previous year.

The major exported goods from this customs office included saffron, gold, carpets, and medicine, Taheri said.

He noted that the customs’ incomes during the said period reached 5.826 trillion rials (about $138.7 million), 24 percent more than the figure for the same period last year.

“Of course, 6,396 tons of goods, including medicine and raw materials were also imported; drugs, industrial equipment, and parts and medical equipment worth $824.768 million were imported from China, Germany, and India and cleared through IKAC customs,” he added.

Emphasizing that Imam Khomeini Airport is the country’s largest passenger crossing, he said: “65,057 passengers traveled from this air border in the mentioned time span, of which 46,495 entered the country while 18,562 passengers left.”

Safari Taheri mentioned the customs office of IKAC as a positive potential for creating productive employment in the country, saying: “In the first three months of this year, 30,000 tons of goods worth $3.996 million were also cleared from the customs of IKAC Free Zone to be transited through the country.”

“It is hoped that IKAC customs will play an important role in the economic growth of the country,” he stressed.

Earlier this month, Transport and Urban Development Ministry and the Secretariat of Iranian Free Zones High Council inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the establishment of Imam Khomeini Airport Free Zone Organization.

The memorandum was aimed at promoting IKAC’s economic status and creating maximum coordination between the Ministry of Transport and Urban Development and the Secretariat of Iranian Free Zones High Council.

EF/MA