TEHRAN – Loading and unloading of goods in Chabahar port, in the southeast of Iran, increased 40 percent in the first quarter of the present Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the country’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) announced.

According to the PMO, loading and unloading of goods in the ports of Iran increased seven percent in the three-month period of this year, from that of the previous year, as 51,661,306 tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in the ports during the mentioned three-month period.

Quarterly loading and unloading of oil products stood at 25,453,417 tons, with nine percent growth, and that of the non-oil goods stood at 26,207,889 tons, with seven percent rise year on year.

Meanwhile, loading and unloading in the container sector was 622,524 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the first quarter of the present year, showing 12 percent as compared to 555,334 TEUs in the first quarter of the previous 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.

MA/MA