BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. The loading and unloading of cargo at Amirabad Port in Mazandaran Province, located in northern Iran, increased by 9 percent from March 20 through October 21, 2024, compared to the same period last year, Director General of Iran's Amirabad Port Authority, Mohammad-Ali Musapour told reporters, Trend reports.
According to him, 3.06 million tons of cargo were loaded and unloaded in Iran's Amirabad Port during the mentioned period.
Musapour mentioned that tapping into the full potential of Amirabad Port along the North-South International Corridor, coupled with enhancing the quality of services for cargo holders, has resulted in a noticeable uptick in the loading and unloading of cargo at the port.
The official noted that as a result of the actions of the Port and Maritime Organization of Iran, several loading and unloading equipment has been purchased and equipped at Amirabad Port. Moreover, work is underway for the rapid loading and unloading of cargo at Amirabad Port.
He stated that more than 2 million tons of essential products (grain, etc.) were imported through the Amirabad port during the seven months.
Iran's Amirabad port is located in an area of 1,060 ha. This port can handle 7.5 million tons of cargo per year.
Meanwhile, an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000, laid the foundation for the North-South Transport Corridor. In general, several countries have ratified the said Agreement. (Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Bulgaria, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Sultanate of Oman, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Türkiye, Ukraine). The purpose of creating the corridor is to reduce the time of delivery of goods coming from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe (the delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks; it is expected to be three weeks via “North-South”).
The Qazvin-Rasht railroad (175 km) was put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijan's railroads with Iran's railway network within the corridor. The Rasht-Astara railroad is to be built on Iranian territory.
The North-South Corridor has three directions within Iran. The eastern direction is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the middle direction is Russia and other countries across the Caspian Sea, and the western direction is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.