According to Director of Amirabad Special Economic Zone Mohammad Ali Saeedi, the contract is in the form of a BOT (build, operation and transfer).
The project is expected to be completed within two years.
“Presently, Amirabad has the capacity to store 235,000 tons of grains. More silos with a collective storage capacity of 235,000 tons are under construction,” the official was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The new silo will be built on around 7,000 square meters of land and create 12 direct jobs for local people.
A total of 3.6 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in Amirabad during the last Iranian year that ended on March 19.
Amirabad is the largest port facility on the Caspian shore and the third largest in Iran. The 1,000-hectare port has nine berths, which can accommodate Ro-Ro vessels, trains and trucks.
A total of 768,000 tons of Iranian goods worth close to $100 million were exported from Amirabad Port to countries sharing the coastlines of Caspian Sea during the last Iranian year (March 2019-20) to register a 30% and 222.6% growth in tonnage and value respectively compared with the year before.
According to director general of the port, Amir Jamshidi, the exports mainly included construction materials, cement, metals and butane gas.
More than 2.93 million tons of commodities worth $931 million were imported into the country through Amirabad port during the same period, registering a 9% and 2% decline respectively year-on-year.
Corn and barley made up the bulk of imports.
The official noted that outgoing transit during the period amounted to around 25,000 tons worth $20.85 million, indicating a 31% and 28% year-on-year decline respectively.
Incoming transit stood at 243,685 tons worth nearly $80 million.
Amirabad Port revenues increased by 9% last year to reach 2.88 trillion rials ($17.9 million), Jamshidi noted.
The northern Mazandaran province has three ports: Amirabad, Fereydounkenar and Noshahr.
Around 18 years ago, Amirabad was an ordinary fishing port. Throughout the years, it has evolved into a port where, with the help of 15 wharfs, exports and imports take place at a large scale. It is the largest port facility on the Caspian shore and the third largest in Iran. The port can accommodate Ro-Ro vessels, trains and trucks. Some 60% of the throughput at the country’s northern ports take place in Amirabad.
During a visit to Amirabad in 2017, Rouhani inaugurated the second development phase of the port, consisting of six new berths with a 4-million-ton capacity, as well as new facilities such as warehouses and grain silos.
Rouhani said the development of Amirabad will contribute to “effective trade relations” with the Caspian Sea littoral states and Commonwealth of Independent States, referring to its connection to Iran’s rail network as a big development for Iran’s economy.
“Iran’s capacity for storage of strategic goods and grains is 21 million tons,” says Qodrat Heydari, an official with Government Trading Corporation of Iran, a subsidiary of Agriculture Ministry.
The capacity of government-owned storage units stands at 5.5 million tons with 156 silos, mechanized or semi-mechanized, simple and private-owned warehouses hovers around 15.5 million tons with 600 silos, mechanized storehouses, cement and metal silos, he said.
“The government has no concern about food security, particularly about wheat. However, we definitely welcome further investment in sectors that need it most,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.