TEHRAN- Loading and unloading of container goods increased by 71 percent in Iran’s northern Anzali port in the first eleven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2022-February 19, 2023), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, a provincial official announced.

Hossein Younesi, the director-general of the Ports and Maritime Department of Gilan province, where the port is located, said that 469 ships have entered the Anzali port complex in the eleven months of this year, adding that 8,388 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) have been unloaded and loaded in this port during the said 11-month period.

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 some 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 facilitate the loading and unloading of goods, especially basic commodities, there.

It is worth mentioning that PMO has defined a high number of projects to develop and improve the country’s ports, as the country aims to double the capacity of its ports in a course of five years.

According to the Ports and Maritime Organization, the capacity of the country's ports has increased from 180 million tons in the Iranian calendar year 1392 (ended in March 2014) to 250 million tons in the previous calendar year.

The total capacity of the country’s ports is expected to reach 280 million tons by the end of the current year (March 20).

MA/MA