TEHRAN – Iranian Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin along with the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) Miad Salehi visited Iran’s first dry (inland) port near the capital Tehran on Friday.

As reported by Mehr News Agency, Aprin Dry Port which is located in Islamshahr town in the south of Tehran, is going to be officially inaugurated in the near future.

With the mentioned port going operational, central industrial provinces will have easier access to their required goods and the cost of maintaining cargo in ships and warehouses of the country's entry points will also be significantly reduced.

When fully operational, about 60 percent of the country's imported goods are going to be transported to the dry port of Aprin via railway to be cleared through customs and provided to the owners of the goods.

Speaking on the sidelines of the mentioned visit, Salehi said the development of Aprin is a priority of the RAI, and due to the significant investment made in this region, a suitable freight network will also be created to facilitate access to the port.

The first phase of the Aprin port was supposed to be put into operation in the first half of the Iranian calendar year 1399 (ended on March 20, 2020), but due to some technical issues related to the establishment of customs at the port, its operation was postponed.

A dry port (also referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a center for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.

In addition to their role in cargo transshipment, dry ports may also include facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for road or rail cargo carriers, and customs clearance services. The location of these facilities at a dry port relieves competition for storage and customs space at the seaport itself.

EF/MA