According to Total News, the panel of maritime transport and port services (sea and port logistics) on the first day of the fourth sea-based economy conference, with the presence of Mr. Khosro Saraei (Director General of Transit, Logistics and Agreements of Ports and Maritime Organization), Fardad Firouzpour (Member of the Board of Directors of Iran Shipping and Related Services Association), Akbari Sani (Deputy of Operations and Safety of Sina Maritime and Port Services Development Company), Sadegh Tokhme Chian (General Manager of Logistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company) and Anoush Roham (Advisor and Assistant of the head of trade development organization in the matter of corridors revival and senior analyst of logistics and foreign trade) was held.
At the beginning of the panel, Saraei briefly described the discussion of logistics in the best way and with this Persian poem ” The cloud, the wind, the moon, the sun, and the sky are busy working, That you obtain bread and do not eat it in neglect” and said: This poem is the most logistical. It is the poetry of Iranian poets, because transportation, infrastructure, information exchange, income, and even transit are discussed in it.
He added, there are two domestic and international points of view in the issue of maritime transport. The main challenges related to the North-South Corridor are that this corridor does not have financial support and this has caused the corridor to not reach its maturity. Customs issues and the slowness of trade development are other issues raised in this field.
In the continuation of the Tokhme Chian panel, he addressed the issue of international corridors that pass through Iran and said, the north-south corridor connects Shahid Rajaei, Chabahar and Imam Khomeini ports to Anzali and Caspian ports, etc. We have 4-5 points inside the territory to support the north-south corridor, among which we can mention Zahedan and…
He further added, by building new railway lines that connect Rasht to Astara, Rasht to Caspian, and Zahedan to Chabahar, it can be very effective in reducing transportation costs. These routes can cover up to 30 million tons of cargo.
Transit trains have special importance and priority for us. Trains that do not have document problems can travel the north-south route, which is about 1,800 kilometers, in 3 days.
In the continuation of the panel, the deputy of operation and safety of Sina Maritime and Port Services Development Company, Akbari Sani, made a speech regarding the development of economic, commercial and investment cooperation and said, in the field of food security of the general policy of the country, the discussion of the entry of basic goods and looking at Capacity development is important. More than 19% of the country’s population lives in the eastern parts of the country. The annual need of this population for wheat and other cattle inputs is 4.5 million tons. These needs are met through the southern and northern ports of the country. We must examine the capacities of the southeast of the country and then start formulating strategies and solutions.
Accompanying the economic policies of the government in large sectors, standardizing the flow of basic goods entering the country through Chabahar port as a strategic point and helping to remove deprivation from these areas are among the things that can be achieved in the shadow of the development of the North-South Corridor.
In the final part of the sea transportation and port services panel, “Anoush Roham” discussed the comprehensive port system and said, 10 years have passed since the launch of this system, but still international standards have not been met and the systems have not been integrated.
He further stated, the ratio of dispersion that we are facing in the export, import, transportation, logistics and transit sectors is more than 70% related to the licenses and coordination between the departments.