Port Emam Khomeyni
Port Emam Khomeyni is a seaport at the northwestern end of the Persian Gulf close to Bandar Khomeini, in the metropolitan area of the provincial capital of Ahvaz, Khuzestan.
The port was opened in 1960 with two berths, today it offers 40 berths for ships. Until the First Gulf War, the port was Iran's most important oil port, but lost its status to the ports of Bandar Abbas. After the handling of goods at the port of Imam Khomeini was long reserved exclusively for the state-owned Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), since 2005 the Iranian government has also approved direct connections for container ships to Western Europe.
The port has a cargo turnover of 35 million tonnes per year. In 2003, 28.7 million tonnes of goods and 13 million tonnes of oil were handled at the port near Ahvaz. Various goods are imported into Iran via the port; these mainly include bulk materials such as mineral building materials, cereals, soya and iron products and chemicals (4.3 million tonnes).[1]
The port of Imam Khomeini has several container terminals; terminals for industrial liquids, terminals for cereals including several silos and for heavy loads. The port is the starting point of the Trans-Iranian Railway and is connected to large parts of Iran, including the capital Tehran. There are also roads and air links to all major Iranian cities.