The annual capacity of Iranian ports will increase to 200 million tons by the end of the Fifth Development Plan (2010-2015). Announcing the above, the managing director of Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization Ataollah Sadr said that the current capacity of the country’s ports is about 150 million tons per year, IRIB reported.
More than 40 multipurpose small ports have been established in the southern parts of the country since last year, Sadr said, adding that some 300 small ports will be launched in the future.
The capacity of container loading and unloading in the country’s ports is currently at 4.4 million which will increase to 7 million by the end of 2015, said the official.
According to the report, some 91 million tons of non-oil commodities were loaded and unloaded in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (started March 21) showing a 15-percent growth against last year.
The US unilateral sanctions have not affected the section in satisfying the country’s requirements, he added.
During the past year, more than 440 million containers have been shipped worldwide, of which Iran’s share was just 0.5 percent, said the official adding that given the potentials and infrastructures it should increase to at least 1 percent.
Ports capacity is an estimated capacity of a port or an anchorage to clear cargo in terms of measurement or weight, usually expressed in tons, that may be transported inland from a beach or port over the available means of inland communication, including roads, railroads, and inland waterways. The estimate is based on an evaluation of the physical characteristics of the transportation facilities in the area.
Shahid Rajaei Port
Shahid Rajaei Port is planned to become a regional hub in the Persian Gulf region. The port is located in a semi-closed sea and its only access route is through the Strait of Hormuz.
Almost all regional countries rely on this strait for imports and exports of goods and exports of oil. Every year, about 10,000 commercial ships pass through the strait which by itself hints at the prominence of the region.
Given its 2,440 kilometers of sea borders in the region and the important Shahid Rajaei Port, Iran has a special position in the region.
At present, some 60 percent of operations for displacing goods of the country take place at Shahid Rajaei Port. This is while the port’s share in container operations of the region is eight percent.
Port Expansion
Of course, plans for expanding the port into a hub port in the region still continue. Among such plans are the approvals made during the visit of first vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi and Minister of Road and Transportation Hamid Behbahani along with the accompanying delegation to Bandar Abbas in March.
The important approvals include building and equipping loading and unloading rail station in the port with an operation output of six million tons of oil shipment per year maximum by end of 2011-2012 as well as building, completing and equipping rail and loading station with an annual operation output of 350,000 tons by the end of October 2011.
Experts maintain that given the rapid changes in maritime transportation and the intense rivalry among ports of the region for becoming regional hub, systematic plans should be made