TEHRAN- Loading and unloading of commodities in Iran’s northern Anzali and Astara ports have increased during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-December 20), compared to the same period of time in the past year, according to a provincial official.

Mohammad-Mohsen Salimipour, the deputy head of Gilan Province’s Ports and Maritime Department for the ports and economic affairs, put the amount of loading and unloading at 1.184 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at the mentioned ports during the nine-month period.

The official said 1.033 million TEUs of goods have been loaded and unloaded at Anzali Port, which has been 38 percent more than the amount of the same period of time in the past year.

At Astara Port, 151,000 tons of commodities have been loaded and unloaded, with a 27-percent rise year on year, he added.

Located in Gilan Province, north of Iran, Anzali Free Trade-Industrial Zone is the sole free zone in the southern part of the Caspian Sea with an area of 9,400 hectares and 40 kilometers shoreline.

It is one of the country’s seven free trade-industrial zones.

Located on the North-South International Corridor, having a special position in connection with the Caspian littoral states, proximity to the ports of Astrakhan and Lagan in Russia, Aktau in Kazakhstan, and Baku in Azerbaijan, access through convenient routes to the consumer markets of CIS countries, and proximity to Rasht International Airport are some advantages of Anzali Free Zone.

Astara Port is 60 hectares and it is the first port of the private sector in Iran. It is the closest and the most cost-effective way for trade and transport between Asia, Africa, and Europe. It has been designed for loading and unloading 2,500-ton freighters.

Located by the Caspian Sea, Astara has sea, land, and railway borders points with the Azerbaijan Republic.

Even during the coronavirus outbreak, the port is considered one of the main points for Iran’s export and import.

Source: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/456322/Loading-unloading-of-goods-rise-in-Anzali-Astara-ports