Deputy Minister: Iran to Become First Transit Route in Region
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian transportation official said the country has devised special plan to become the first transit route in the region by the next five years.
Addressing a meeting on the development of transportation, Deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Ali Mohammad Nourian said, Iran plans to use its multiple transportation advantages and other economic privileges in a bid to become first regional transit route in the next 5 year.
He said Iran's "Access to free waters, the country's position in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea regions and a special logistical position" has turned Iran to a specific route for the transit of goods.
On Sunday, an Iranian transportation official said about 10 million tons of goods were transited via Iran during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21 - December 22, 2013), adding that the figure shows a 6.2% growth compared with the same period last year.
The announcement was made by Mohammad Javad Atrchian, the director general of the office for transit and border terminals of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization.
Atrchian underlined that some 8.6mln tons (about 96%) of the commodities were transited via roads and the 372,000 tons via railroads.
He said that 3.9 million tons of the transited goods were oil and oil products and 5.07 million tons of them were non-oil goods.
Statistics show that over 11.6 million tons of goods were transited through Iran in the past Iranian year (March 2012 - March 2013).
More than 100 countries transited their goods via Iran. Iraq, China, the UAE, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan transited the highest amounts of goods. Iran now earns about $560 million annually through transiting goods via ports.