Total Private Investments in Ports Outstrip $680 Million

EghtesadOnline: The private sector has so far invested a total of 158.2 trillion rials ($686 million) in Iranian ports, says the head of Ports and Maritime Organization.

News ID: ۷۵۰۸۰۱

25 August 2020

Mohammad Rastad added that 135.45 trillion rials ($587 million) of this sum were attracted from the Iranian year ending March 2014.

“A total of 331 projects have been financed by the Iranian private sector in port installations, equipment, logistic facilities, production and added value generating centers. Most of these projects have come on stream and are now playing a significant role in improving their performance,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.

“The construction of Shahid Rajaee Port’s new rail-based mineral terminal was one of the major projects whose contract was finalized last [Iranian] year [March 2019-20] between PMO and the private sector. Investors are conducting studies on the project and the execution phase will begin this year.”

Noting that the 33-year build–operate–transfer (BOT) project was worth 50 trillion rials ($217 million) when it was signed, the official said, “Once completed, the country’s exports of minerals and steel via the most important container port of the country [i.e., Shahid Rajaee Port] will improve considerably.”

150K-Ton Vessels to Berth at Iran's New Mineral Terminal

The construction of Shahid Rajaee Port's new mechanized mineral terminal will allow vessels with a capacity of 150,000 tons to berth there, according to the deputy head of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, Ali Hassanzadeh.

He made the statement in a ceremony held for signing the contract between Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran and the private sector for terminal construction last year, which is said to become the biggest in the region.

Currently, vessels with a capacity of 60,000 tons are able to berth at Shahid Rajaee Port. This will be the second such terminal as Life Trade Promotion Company signed an agreement with Sistan-Baluchestan Ports and Maritime Organization in May 2018 to establish Iran’s first fully mechanized mineral export terminal in Chabahar’s Shahid Beheshti Port.

“The establishment of the new terminal will reduce waiting time for vessels and increase ports’ productivity,” Hassanzadeh was quoted as saying by ILNA.

Located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, Shahid Rajaee is Iran’s biggest container port.

Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is conducted at Shahid Rajaee Port that also accounts for around 90% of all container throughput in the country.

“The project has three construction phases and the development of each phase will take three years and cover 180 hectares, each with 60 hectares,” Hassanzadeh said.

In addition, the project includes the establishment of a 15-megawatt power station.

The terminal is also expected to create 500 sustainable direct jobs. The terminal’s final capacity will reach 50 million tons per year upon the completion of the project.

Speaking with IRNA on the advantages of the new terminal, former director general of Hormozgan PMO, Allahmorad Afifipour, noted that the terminal will help boost the export of minerals and decrease transportation costs.

According to Afifipour, the capacity of Shahid Rajaee Port’s current terminal is currently 14 million tons per year.

Addressing the ceremony, the PMO managing director told IRNA that the terminal will help handle the current heavy port traffic and rise in demand for steel exports that will be expedited by the port’s mechanization.

He noted that the new contract is a giant step for increasing port capacities by attracting private investment.

Rastad also noted that the operational period of the contract is 33 years.

The new terminal is set to become the biggest mineral terminal in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, and will bring about a major development in Iran's mining industry, considering the country’s exceptional mineral capacity.

According to the head of Majlis Development Commission, Mohammad Reza Rezaei-Kouchi, Shahid Rajaee Port has a 6% share in the region’s total container throughput per annum, ILNA reported.

3rd Phase of Expansion Project Underway

The third phase of Shahid Rajaee Port expansion is being conducted at full-throttle with an investment of 12 quadrillion rials ($52 million), according to the newly-appointed director general of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization.

“The project includes the construction of 1,400 meters of wharfs and 113 hectares of hinterland container area, and 4 million tons of dredging, among many other infrastructural undertakings,” Alireza Mohammadi Karajiran was also quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.

The completed project, he added, will help increase the port’s nominal container throughput capacity from the current 6.3 million TEUs to 8.4 million TEUs (giving a 20% boost) and vessels with capacities as big as 18,400 TEUs weighing 185,000 DWT will be able to berth at the wharfs.

Mohammadi noted that Shahid Rajaee Port has better chances of elevating its ranking in the region.

A total of 528 container vessels berthed at Shahid Rajaee Port during the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 20-July 21), which shows a 14% rise compared with the similar period of last year.

According to the newly-appointed director general of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization, container loading and unloading in the port stood at 482,000 TEUs over the period, Fars News Agency reported.

According to latest data published by PMO, a total of 17.9 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in Hormozgan Province’s Shahid Rajaee Port during the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 20-July 21), registering a 28.6% fall compared to the similar period of last year.

This made Shahid Rajaee the busiest port in the four-month period. Non-oil goods accounted for around 11.35 million tons and oil products more than 9 million tons of the total, showing a 32.17% decline and a 7.79% rise respectively year-on-year.

Overall, Iran’s 21 major ports handled 38.41 million tons of goods during the period, down 28.06% compared to the same period of last year.

Non-oil goods accounted for more than 25.15 million tons of the total throughput, which was 34.35% down year-on-year.  The remaining 13.26 million tons were oil products, registering a 12.06% decline.

Container loading and unloading decreased by 39.7% and reached 425,899 TEUs.

Close to 16.48 million tons of goods were exported and over 10.49 million tons imported, registering a 33.14% and 8.98% decline respectively YOY.

An estimated 842,258 tons of goods were in transit during the same period, down 49.04%.

The 21 ports under PMO review include the southern ports of Abadan, Imam Khomeini, Bushehr, Khorramshahr, Genaveh, Bandar Lengeh, Chavibdeh, Arvandkenar, Charak and Dayyer off the Persian Gulf.

Shahid Rajaee, Shahid Bahonar, Qeshm and Tiab are at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Jask and Chabahar on the coast of the Oman Sea, plus the northern ports of Fereydounkenar, Noshahr, Astara, Amirabad and Anzali on the Caspian Sea.

More than 139.65 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded via the ports in the last Iranian year (March 2019-20) to register a rise of 0.17% compared to the year before.

Non-oil goods accounted for more than 95.48 million tons of the total throughput, showing a 0.08% year-on-year growth. The remaining 44.16 million tons included oil products, indicating a 0.7% increase YOY.

Almost 69.65 million tons of were exported from the ports under review and more than 31.15 million tons were imported, showing a 10.28% and 13.92% growth respectively compared to the same period last year.