Iranian Road Network Witnesses Increased Cargo Transit by 20%
Javad Hedayati, an official at the Ministry of Road and Urban Development, said that cargo transit through the Iranian road network had topped five million metric tons (mt) in the six months to September 22, up nearly 20% from the same period last year.
He added that the figure is equivalent to the entire volume of cargo transported via the Iranian road and rail networks in the calendar year to late March.
Hedayati added that cargo transit through Iranian roads reached 791,000 mt in the calendar month to late September.
He said the surge was mainly a result of increased activity on an Iranian shipping route that connects Turkey to Turkmenistan and other countries in Central Asia.
“Currently, some 100 trucks transport cargo between Turkey and Central Asia through Iran on a daily basis,” said the official.
He said Iran and Turkmenistan have reached an understanding under which Turkmenistan has eased transportation restrictions for trucks arriving from or traveling to Iran.
The official added that Turkmenistan has lifted a $1.5 per kilometer tax that it used to charge Iranian trucks for travelling in the country.
Hedayati said Iranian transit routes have also become more attractive for cargo delivery to and from Russia since early this year when Moscow came under western sanctions because of the war in Ukraine.
He said that transportation of cargo containers via Iranian seaports to Russia have increased after Turkmenistan eased restrictions on international transportation earlier this year.
Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) said earlier this month that seven Russian freight trains heading for India have crossed Iran over the past two weeks.
Salehi said the mentioned Russian freighter traveled about 3,800 kilometers from Moscow to Sarkhes in the Northeast Iran border and after crossing the country the cargoes will be shipped to India from Bandar Abbas Port.
Salehi also announced the negotiations with Kazakhstan and China for launching transit railway lines, saying, “we expect the lines to be launched as soon as an agreement is reached regarding tariffs; the negotiations are in the final stages.”
Iran and Russia reached an agreement earlier this year for reviving the idle section of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in Iran for expanding transit ties.
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