BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 30. Cargo transit through Iran increased by 15 percent in the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through October 22, 2023), compared to the same period last year, Director General of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mohammad Rezvanifar said, Trend reports.
Rezvanifar stated that a total of 9.3 million tons of cargo were transited through Iran during the past 7 months.
“Meanwhile, in the same period last year, cargo transit through Iran stood at about 8.1 million tons,” the director general added.
Despite being on several international transit routes, such as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the East-West Corridor, Iran lacks adequate infrastructure for them. This makes Iran an unreliable route for international cargo companies. Moreover, Iran faces many international sanctions. Thus, international companies avoid cargo transit through Iran.
Currently, there are 2,793 km of controlled-access highways, 45,170 km of highways, and freeways in operation in Iran.
The length of railway lines in Iran is currently 14,984 kilometers. At present, 978 locomotives, 29,305 freight wagons, and 2,153 passenger wagons are in operation on Iran's railways.
In total, more than 12.9 million tons of cargo were transited through Iran in the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023), representing a 2.2 percent increase from the preceding year (March 21, 2021 through March 20, 2022).
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