TEHRAN – Loading and unloading of goods in Chabahar port, in the southeast of Iran, increased 29 percent in the first half of the present Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the director-general of the Ports and Maritime Department of Sistan-Baluchestan province, where the port is located, announced.

Qasem Askari-Nasab said 1,781,505 tons of goods, including oil products and non-oil commodities as well as essential goods and container commodities, were loaded and unloaded in Chabahar port during the mentioned six-month period.

The official further said that loading and unloading of essential goods increased nine percent, that of oil products and petrochemicals rose 6.5 percent, and that of non-oil goods increased 48.2 percent in the first half of the present year, as compared to the first half of the previous year.

According to a report released by the Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), the loading and unloading of goods in the ports of the country has risen 4.8 percent during the first half of the present year, as compared to the first half of the past year.

Based on the mentioned report, 109.733 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in the ports of Iran during the first half of this year, while the figure was 104.698 million tons in the first half of the previous year.

As reported, loading and unloading of non-oil products stood at 54.777 million tons in the six-month of this year, up 0.8 percent from 54.366 million tons in the same time span of the previous year.

In terms of oil products, this year’s figure was 54.955 million tons, rising 9.2 percent from 50.331 million tons in the past year.

For the container sector, a growth of 8.2 percent was achieved, as 1.273 million TEUs were loaded and unloaded in the first half of this year, while the figure was 1.176 million TEUs in the first half of the past year.

As Iran's only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar port holds great significance for the country both politically and economically. The country has taken serious measures for developing this port in order to improve the country’s maritime trade.

In this regard, the Islamic Republic has been welcoming investors from all over the world to take part in the development of this port and benefit from its distinguished position as a trade hub in the region.

Chabahar port consists of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, each of which has five berth facilities. The port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Balouchestan Province and is about 120 kilometers southwest of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, where the China-funded Gwadar port is situated.

In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement for the strategically-located Chabahar to give New Delhi access to Kabul and Central Asia.

Based on an agreement with Iran, India is going to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.

While Iran is combating the U.S. unilateral sanctions on its economy, the country’s ports as the major gates of exports and imports play a significant role in this battle. 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, there.

MA/MA