TEHRAN – Head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) has said over 400 trillion rials (about $831.3 million) of maritime and port projects are currently underway in the country, the PMO portal reported on Saturday.

According to Ali-Akbar Safaei, 180 trillion rials (about $340 million) of such projects have also been completed and gone operational since the current government took office in August 2021.

He stated that in the international arena, with the government's policy regarding relations with the neighbors, very good links have been established with the neighboring countries in the maritime and ports sector.

“Many negotiations have been conducted with the southern and northern neighbors and it is hoped that this year we will witness a significant growth in the investment of foreign companies and government sectors in the maritime industry and the north-south transit corridor,” Safaei said.

In November 2022, PMO announced that the organization has modified its investment charter in order to facilitate foreign investment in the country’s ports.

“Since economic diplomacy is a major policy of the 13th government, the charter of investment in ports has been facilitated with the aim of attracting foreign investors,” IRNA quoted PMO Deputy Head Jalil Eslami as saying.

Speaking in a gathering of PMO managers with oil and petrochemical industry representatives, Eslami said: “We live in a period when ports infrastructure development is very important and over the past few decades positive efforts have been made to increase the capacity of ports in the south and north of the country.”

According to the official, the capacity of the country’s ports is going to be increased to 280 million tons per annum in the near future.

Later in March this year, Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash inaugurated 10 major maritime projects worth 42.951 trillion rials (about $81.1 million) in southern Hormozgan Province.

The inauguration ceremony of the said projects was also attended by Safaei, Governor of Hormozgan Province Mehdi Dousti, along with some provincial officials and MPs.

The inaugurated projects include a marine reference building, a new section of the third phase of Shahid Rajaei Port’s development plan, and two suction machines with a total capacity of 300 tons per hour for loading and unloading of grains at this port.

Khamir multipurpose port was another major project that was inaugurated by the minister. The port is developed with the aim of facilitating trade, enhancing the export of minerals, and boosting employment in the province.

EF/MA