TEHRAN, Iran, November 2. Iran’s Mellat Bank has provided financial resources to the private sector to purchase a limited number of ships, member of Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce Jalal Jalalifar told Trend.
"Purchasing ships requires more resources and the government should offer credit to private sector in this regard," he noted.
"Development of transportation sector would increase the demand (for Iranian products) and improve domestic production," he added.
He pointed out that purchase of a second-hand ship requires about $6 million, while purchasing a new ship costs $20 million.
The Iranian official also stressed on boosting commodity transit via the Caspian Sea.