ST. GALLEN/TEHRAN: October 01, 2016. The logistics group Transinvest has been awarded a 25-year concession to operate Iran's Aprin rail terminal, 20 kilometres from Tehran.

The Transinvest subsidiary PTB Perse International Forwarding will invest US$30 million under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model that includes a three-year construction phase. PTB will develop and operate an initial 55-hectare sector with an annual capacity of 400,000 TEU

With a total area of 450 hectares, Transinvest expects Aprin to become Iran's largest dry port and a modern rail logistics terminal with Customs clearance and bonded warehouse facilities. PTB plans to ship containers by rail from the port of Bandar Abbas to Aprin for clearance.

The new PTB concession follows the first successful rail service between Yiwu, China and Tehran earlier this year. The company expects future westbound trains will be handled at Aprin.

"With the easing of the sanctions, additional new opportunities are arising that we want to tap into," said Parviz Golabi, PTB managing director. "We have filed an application to extend our terminal in Bandar Abbas and we want to add another 110,000 sq.mt. for additional handling and storage capacities," he added.

PTB services include trucking, terminal operations and port handling for Maersk and MSC, plus GSA representation for Lufthansa, IAG Cargo, China Southern and Pegasus.

In Bandar Abbas PTB operates facilities totaling 450,000 sq.mt. including a cotton terminal with its own railway siding and a container terminal.

Last year the TransInvest Group produced revenue of €715 million from operations in 34 countries including Eastern Europe, Russia Central Asia, China, the Middle East and North Africa.