TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s first private port facilities on Caspian Sea shores is to open after nearly 15 years of planning and construction, said Allahyar Asadi, who heads Ports and Maritime Organization of Golestan Province. The official said that construction of two main breakwaters at Khajeh Nafas Port was nearing its final stages, allowing […]
TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s first private port facilities on Caspian Sea shores is to open after nearly 15 years of planning and construction, said Allahyar Asadi, who heads Ports and Maritime Organization of Golestan Province.
The official said that construction of two main breakwaters at Khajeh Nafas Port was nearing its final stages, allowing officials to inaugurate the facility in the near future, Press TV reported.
He said that once open, Iran’s first private port would significantly boost maritime transportation alongside the eastern coast of the sea while it would lead to a major economic boom in the Golestan region.
Most of Iran’s trade through the Caspian Sea is processed via the western and central coasts of the enclosed body of water and in the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran.
Golestan, which borders Turkmenistan, is the main agriculture hub in the region and a key gateway to Central Asian countries.
Planning Khajeh Nafas began in 2005 when government authorities sought to create more jobs in the region through more exchanges with Russia and also Kazakhstan, a country which is becoming a transit route for Chinese cargoes seeking to reach Europe.
Golestan Governor Hadi Haqshenas told IRNA on Sunday that Khajeh Nafas will soon begin processing large cargoes with a first ship carrying timber due to arrive at the port in the near future.
Haqshenas said the private owner of the port had made an initial investment of around $9 million for the 176-hectare port, which is located around 10 kilometers from the city of Bandar Torkaman and 50 kilometers from the provincial capital of Gorgan.
He said the port would be capable of accommodating ships with a maximum of 5,000 tons of cargo in its first phase of operation.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
