TEHRAN, May. 10 (MNA) -- Iran is to construct the largest port among Caspian Sea lateral states (CIS), Anzali Port Free Trade–Industrial Zone Managing Director Kamal Firouzabadi said on Friday.

“Courtiers try various social, political, and economic methods to reach economic development … one of these ways is enriching free trade zones,” he told reporters.
This official explained that the construction project of this zone would start around the end of the current Iranian year (start March 20, 2008 to March 20, 2009).
For creating a free zone four steps or phases must be considered, he explanied:
“The first phase concentrates on this port becoming operational; faults and shortcomings in regulations and laws should be identified and solved through specific guidelines.”
“The second phase should be expanding operations in the free zone and for investors to reach a relatively stable placement; port traffic should be flowing in this phase.”
“In the Third phase connections should be made with local and foreign institutes and we should get orders from international markets; of course, a part of these orders should be allocated to local demands, in a way that the local market become linked to international and world markets.”
“The fourth phase is when activities in the free zone become specialized.”
Firouzabadi stated that the current capacity of this port is five million tons.
“We hope that this number reaches ten million within the next five years,” he said.
Among the advantages and opportunities of Anzali Port Free Trade–Industrial Zone its proximity to CIS ports such as Astrakhan and Lagan in Russia, Turkmenbasy (formerly Krasnovodsk) in Turkmenistan , Oktao in Kazakhstan and Baku in Azerbaijan can be considered.
This port also is close to the largest resource of gas and oil in the Caspian sea, has access to lead, zinc, and iron mines, is connected to five power stations, is located near to an international airport, is not far away from the capital, Tehran.
On the east side of this zone docks, shipping and ports organization and facilities, customs office, industrial city, natural territory and properties, adjacent to Anzali international lagoon can also be mentioned.
Anzali Port also is the producer of the world’s best caviar.
“Of our other projects, I can refer to studies for constructing roads and transport routs to this zone,” he said.
This port is to be constructed through investing approximately $435 million, he noted.
Anzali Free Trade-Industrial Zone is a wide area about 3200 hectares and about 8 kilometers of sea border and up to 2 kilometers into the sea, which includes industrial, trade and commercial, tourism, and service sections.
RVA END MNA