“Through coordination between Sarakhs Special Economic Zone and Iran Khodro Company over past months, the capacity of the Sarakhs railway route was emphasized and it was decided, consequently, that raw materials for car manufacturing factories would be transported from China to Sarakhs,” Rajabi Moghadam said.
He added: “In addition to significant reduction in transportation costs and demurrage, the move can shorten transportation time and stockpiling from approximately 50 days to 15 days”.
The official went on to say: “Furthermore, an increase in rail transit will lead to reduced fuel consumption, decreased road traffic, and enhanced transportation safety”.
“Rail transit has begun with arrival of this first shipment, so goods should not be allowed to be densely stockpiled in the country's main ports,” he emphasized.
Noting that Sarakhs will be logistics future of the east and northeast of the country, Rajabi Moghadam said: “The logistics phase of this zone has been designed in three sections. Its first and second phases have gone on stream, including wide and normal gauge railway lines and platforms, with unloading and loading facilities for a capacity of 1 million tons”.
Rajabi Moghadam concluded his remarks by saying: “Recent incident in Bandar Abbas was a serious warning to government officials that goods should not be stockpiled in main ports and Sarakhs Special Economic Zone and other aligned zones at border crossings are considered fundamental solutions for development and increase of the country's transit and transportation capacity”.