Tehran, January 3, 2024 (MRUD NEWS)—The Anzali Port is going to be connected to the railway network in order to put 80 percent of the current 10 million tons capacity of the Port into operation, informed the Director General of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Gilan Province, Hussein Younesi.
Pointing to the performance of Anzali port, Younesi said the import through the Anzali port complex during 9 months (from March 21 to December 21, 2023) was 1,200,000 tons of goods including grains, crude edible oil, wood and ironware, which shows 55% increase compared to the same period in the last year. Also, 250,000 tons of goods, including petrochemical products and construction materials, were exported from this port during the mentioned period.
He also stated that 542 commercial vessels have entered the Anzali port complex during this period showing 43% increase compared to the same period in the last year.
Pointing to the 32% increase in unloading and loading of goods, he explained that in 9 months of this year, more than 1,478,000 tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in the Anzali Port.
During the transport week, two MoUs for investments in the Anzali Port have been signed. One for the construction of edible oil storage tanks with the value of 2,500 billion IRR which the land will be ready and the workshop near to be equipped.
Aditionally, another MoU for the construction of a shipbuilding factory with the value of 14,000 billion IRR. About 6 hectares of lands for this purpose will be at the disposal of the contracting party.
Younesi reminded that out of the 17 berths available in Anzali port, there are one service berth, one tourist berth, two oil berths and 13 commercial berths, and 15 ships can dock in this port at the same time.
Considering the importance of Anzali Port in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), he informed of reducing the shipping time from 35-50 days to 18-25 days by organizing logistics and speeding up the customs procedures. Also, he added that in the meeting with the Russians during the visit to the ports of Caspian Sea, the issues related to the shipping lines in the ports and the problems and obstacles for Iranian ships and sailors were resolved.
The Anzali port has a storage capacity of 350,000 tons of goods, 17 berths and capacity for berthing of 15 ships, which are not available in Russian ports, he stated.
The capacity has further been increased in his port by building two 95,000 tons silos.
As part of other measures in Gilan Ports, the of dredging operation of Anzali lagoon and Astart Port have also been started for the first time as part of social responsibility for the first time for the former and after 12 years for the latter port.
Also, providing electrical power to ships has been done according to the provisions of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) aiming at protecting the marine environment.
Referring to the measures taken to ease transit in the Anzali port, Younesi clarified that although the water level of the Caspian Sea is decreasing, we have managed this by timely dredging. While ships in Astrakhan port cannot be loaded at full capacity.
There are two berths in Astara Port and the capacity of Astara port is 700,000 tons. Also, Astara is the only city that has road, rail and sea border with neighboring countries, and this competitive advantage in cargo transport has made rail and road modes more attractive to goods owners than the sea mode.
According to the customs report, 500,000 tons of goods were transported by rail last year, and it is predicted that cargo transportation by rail will reach 800,000 tons this year.