Iran eyes rise in trade with new terminal on Turkish border

Iran’s Road Maintenance & Transportation Organization (RTMO) said in a statement on Saturday that the Razi Border Terminal will be officially inaugurated within days in a ceremony that will be attended by senior government officials.

It said the terminal will make it much easier for passengers and cargo trucks to travel between Iran and Turkey.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the terminal will also help boost bilateral trade between Iran and Turkey amid plans by the two countries to meet a $30 billion target in their annual exchanges.

Iran started construction of the Razi Border Terminal in 2019 and has spent some $25 million on the project so far.

The three-story terminal can process passengers and goods 24 hours a day and in three shifts.

RTMO figures showed that the time needed to process passengers travelling via the border between Iran and Turkey would drop from an average of three hours to 15 minutes with the launch of the new terminal at the Razi crossing point.

The crossing is near Qotur, a border area located some 70 kilometers from Khoy, the second-largest city in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province.

It is one of Iran’s key trade gateways in the west of the country and leads to Kapıköy in Turkey’s Van province.

Iranian authorities hope the expansion project in the Razi crossing could lead to a rise in cargo transport via the Iranian territory between Turkey and landlocked countries located to the east and northeast of Iran.

MNA/PressTV