The sixth meeting of the Export Promotion Commission of the Gorgan Chamber of Commerce was held with a focus on examining the capacity and potential of the Incheh Borun railway in the North-South and East-West corridors, and reviewing the export capacity of aquatic products, especially shrimp, to China, Eurasia, and other global markets
- Advantages of the Incheh Borun Route in the North-South Corridor:
- The proximity of Incheh Borun to the shared border of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan
Incheh Borun and Balashak/Sarakhs are 700 kilometers apart, and the exclusive line of this route is practically traffic-free, whereas the Balashak to Sarakhs border line is 1133 kilometers and has high traffic due to the energy transfer route from Turkmenistan (Ashgabat/Turkmenabat and Turkmenbashi). In 2000, the Turkmenistan railway, by constructing the Etrek terminal, covered halls, bogie exchange site, customs and banking offices, guesthouses, and standard Iranian and broad-gauge rails, created a very high potential for transshipment of goods. This compensates for the current lack of infrastructure in Incheh Borun. It should be noted that until last year, the code of border station Ak-Yayla on the Iran-Turkmenistan border (from the Incheh Borun route) was not registered for container transport from Russia to Iran in the wagon movement system, and thus container rail transport was not possible. In this regard, this company corresponded with the railways of Turkmenistan and Iran, and after months of follow-up, the first container train of the eastern corridor through Incheh Borun was forwarded by the company “Behineh Tarabar Azhour” in August 2023 from Chelyabinsk to Neom, Saudi Arabia, including electrical industrial bases. - It has been repeatedly stated by our peers that Incheh Borun to Tehran and Bandar Abbas routes are facing issues related to gabarit and tunnels, which need to be addressed:
- On this route, semiside wagons and flat wagons can operate without any restrictions. However, we also face operational limitations on the railways of CIS countries. For example, in these countries, specific borders are designated for the transport of containers or box wagons.
- Due to the unloading and loading structures and the fact that Incheh Borun, located in the eastern part of the Caspian Sea, has access to 50% of the population of central, eastern, and southern Russia within a distance of 3200 kilometers to Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, and Barnaul, it is considered a pivotal point in trade exchanges.
- As mentioned initially, the sources of cargo, including metals, coal, wood, and petroleum and chemical products, are concentrated in eastern Russia. Practically, for exporting these products, ports in eastern Siberia such as Nakhodka and Vladivostok, and in the west, ports like Saint Petersburg and Novorossiysk are used.
- The distance between Yekaterinburg and Novorossiysk (near the Black Sea) after re-transshipment on a ship towards India is 2795 kilometers
- The distance between Yekaterinburg and Saint Petersburg (near the Baltic Sea) is 2100 kilometers, which after re-transshipment of goods on a ship to the ports of other countries, they travel a distance of 8765 miles to reach the ports of India. In contrast, the distance on the eastern corridor route can be reduced from approximately 17000 kilometers as follows:
- From Yekaterinburg to the Iran border (in Incheh Borun): 3200 kilometers, and an additional 1950 kilometers to Bandar Abbas, and from Bandar Abbas to Novashwa: 2000 kilometers, totaling 7150 kilometers, which is half the distance of the western Russian and waterway to India.
This also applies to the Persian Gulf countries, and the speed of operation can demonstrate Iran’s capabilities in shaping container transport in the North-South corridor of the eastern Caspian Sea. - Trade exchanges between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan with countries such as India, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf countries, along with the geographical conditions for exporting goods from eastern Russia
- It necessitates the construction of logistical infrastructure such as terminals and storage warehouses along the transit route through Iran, especially at the Incheh Borun border.
For example, the financial turnover between Russia and India last year was $57 billion, and between Russia and the UAE, it was $11 billion. - In this regard, we refer to the facilities and the logistics terminal in the Etrek region, located in Turkmenistan, 32 kilometers from the Incheh Borun border point:
- A covered hall for transshipment of goods from broad-gauge wagons to standard Iranian and Turkish wagons and vice versa
- Customs offices
- Bogey exchange site and guesthouse