Road Minister Mohammad Eslami arrived at Konarak Airport in Chabahar, in the southeastern Sistan and Balouchestan on Wednesday morning to inaugurate and break the ground for implementation of 24 major port and maritime projects as well as launching the track laying of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway during his two-day stay in the province.
Eslami was accompanied by a delegation comprised of senior Iranian officials including Port and Maritime Organization (PMO) Head Mohammad Rastad, the First Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the Commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters Saeed Mohammad, Deputy Road Minister and the Head of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company of Iran Kheirollah Khademi, Head of Coastal and Port Engineering department Mohammadreza Allahyar as well as a number of top provincial officials.
Chabahar port is the gateway to Central Asia, as well as the north-south, and the east-west corridor.
The development projects in Chabahar all seek to convert the only Iranian ocean port, Chabahar, into a regional trade and transit hub to play the role of a multi-purpose port at the international level. By the present time, the port's first phase with a capacity of about 10 million tons has been put into operation.
The development of the Chabahar Port is important for the economic development of regional countries and it is worth noting that endorsing regional agreements with neighboring countries are crucial for Iran so that it can increase its transit share to connect the shores of the Indian Ocean to Russia, northern Central Asia, and the Caucasus.
Of the total 24 projects, 13 ones were maritime at the value of 4.12 trillion rials ($14.72mn) and 11 ones were development projects worth 15.94 trillion rials ($56.9mn).
One of the most important projects the execution of which was commenced by the direct order of the road minister was the track laying of the Chabahar to Zahedan railway.
Zahedan–Chabahar railway is the most important railway project in Iran that will connect Chabahar to the north of the country and is the longest and most strategic railway route in Iran.
The railway project, which is to be operational by next year, has had 48 percent of physical development by the present time. About 32 kilometers of track laying has been completed from Zahedan to Chabahar and on Wednesday, the procedure started from Chabahar to Zahedan.
As Eslami announced in Chabahar, the length of the domestic railway network will increase from the current 10,700 km to 16,000 km by March 2022.
The National Development Fund of Iran, due to the direct order of the Leader of the Islamic Republic, has allocated €300 million to the project, of which €100 million has been received.
After its completion, the mega Chabahar-Zahedan railway will have a huge impact on railway transportation of eastern Iran, for it will be linked to the Khaf-Herat railway. Khaf-Herat railway is a major part of the Iranian railway corridor in the east of the country. The network will provide easy access to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The project will be inaugurated in two weeks in a ceremony attended by Iranian and Afghan top officials.
As Eslami announced in Chabahar, the length of the domestic railway network will increase from the current 10,700 km to 16,000 km by March 2022.
The Iranian road minister arrived in Shahid Beheshti Port on Wednesday evening to inaugurate several projects including a refrigerated container terminal, a new building for repairing strategic equipment, entrance and exit gates of the port, construction of a 100,000-ton grain silo, setting up an access control system, Chabahar port logistics corridor construction project, etc.
As Eslami told the reporters, the current unloading and loading capacity of Chabahar Port stands at 11 million tons and thanks to the conducted negotiations with regional countries, significant steps have been taken for commercialization of the port.
He underlined that despite the terrorist acts of Iran's enemies, the country is scheduled to be one of the main actors in the maritime industry of the region.
The minister noted that making investments in the maritime sector is ever-increasing in Iran.
The minister left Chabahar for Zahedan on Thursday. Eslami also inaugurated 54 kilometers of three newly constructed highways of Iranshahr-Khash, Zahedan-Bam, and Zahedan-Zabol.
Report: Haniyeh Sadat Jafariyeh
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