TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Iran and India have made more than $50 million investment over the past two years in their shipping industry, Managing Director of Irano-Hind Shipping Company Gholam-Hossein Golparvar announced here Sunday.

Golparvar told reporters that his company had made the bulk of investment utilizing loans from British and German banks.

He said the company would purchase a second ship from South Korea that would have the capacity to transport 44,000 tons of cargo.

He added that purchase of the ship would add 200,000 tons to the annual cargo transportation capacity of his company.

The official said a German bank would cover about 70 percent of the ship's price, which is $13.5 million.

The investment, he added, would double the properties of Irano-Hind Shipping Company and its cargo transportation capacity by about 3.3 times, or 330 percent.

Golparvar said the company had transported more than 2,890,000 tons of cargo last year, 98 percent of which out of Iranian borders.

He said his company is the only company to handle container consignments destined to Russia from India.