Kazakhstan and Iran have signed a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement to build a Kazakh transport and logistics terminal at Iran’s largest port, Shahid Rajaee, in Bandar Abbas, Qazinform News Agency cites the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration. The agreement was signed during a ceremony held at the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran.
Aman Malgazhdarov, Director General of the QazExportPromotion Corporate Fund under QazTrade, the Trade Policy Development Center of the Ministry of Trade and Integration, signed the document on behalf of Kazakhstan. Hossein Abbas Nejad, head of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Hormozgan Province and chief of the Shahid Rajaee Port Special Economic Zone, signed it on behalf of Iran.
Under the agreement, Kazakhstan has been allocated a land plot at the Port of Shahid Rajaee to build the transport and logistics terminal. The 27-year agreement provides for two years of construction followed by 25 years of operation, with commercial operations expected to begin in the third year of the project.
According to the organizers, the project marks an important step in expanding transport and logistics cooperation between Kazakhstan and Iran. The Kazakh terminal at Iran's largest port is expected to strengthen the transit potential of the International North–South Transport Corridor, improve the resilience of logistics routes, and expand export opportunities for Kazakh goods.
The terminal is also expected to provide more efficient access for Kazakh exports to the markets of the Persian Gulf countries, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. Earlier, it was reported the global aviation industry is preparing to move twice as many passengers within a generation, without doubling the airports, the fleet, or the people standing at the borders.