Quarterly transit of goods via Iran rises 11%

TEHRAN,June 30(MNA) – Over 3.97 million tons of goods were transited via Iran during the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21), an 11 percent rise compared with the same period in the previous year. Some 95 percent of the goods were transited by road and the rest by rail. The transited consignments mostly consisted of fuel, construction materials, cotton, home appliances, vehicles, foodstuff and fertilizers. Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Turkmenistan were the main countries which transited goods via Iran. Earlier this month, the Iranian deputy roads and urban development minister said that Iran has the capacity to transit 40 million tons of goods annually. Shahriyar Afandizadeh told that the capacity has been attained through expanding the roads network, establishing border terminals, and boosting transport infrastructures. Afandizadeh said that over 11.6 million tons of goods were transited through Iran in the previous Iranian calendar year. He added that 106 countries transited their goods via Iran. Meanwhile, head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization Ataollah Sadr has said that Iran earns some 14 trillion rials (about $1.15 billion) annually through transiting goods via ports. Around $140 billion worth of goods are annually transited via Iranian ports, he added. In February, IRNA quoted Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Ali Nikzad as saying that the total capacity of Iranian ports has increased by 80 million tons during the past eight years, reaching 184 million tons.