Passenger cruise ships will soon be sailing in the Arvand River, a natural border between Iran and Iraq, according to an Iranian official.
“We are in talks with Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran as well as other entities to import 10 cruise ships,” Esmail Zamani, the managing director of Arvand Free Zone was cited by the Iranian media. “We are paving the way so the private sector enters this field,” added the official when asked about who will pay for the vessels.
Zamani said the ships are considered starting sail from the Arvand Free Zone towards other Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Chabahar Port in the Sea of Oman.
Iran southern coats are some 2,000 kilometers long, according to the official who regretted that coastal and maritime tourism has been quite ignored in the country.
“We believe this will attract many tourists to our country which will finally create more jobs and bring in more money to Iran,” stressed Zamani.
He said that private airline Oxin Arvand is set to start direct flights to and from the free zone that is on the Iran-Iraq border.
Earlier, Iran said Iraqi tourists that enter the country through Arvand Free Zone can travel to the Persian Gulf island of Kish via Abadan without any visas.
Arvand Free Zone with an area of 37,400 hectares is in the northwest of the Persian Gulf, including the cities of Abadan, Khorramshahr and Minushahr (Minu Island). The region is in the neighborhood of Iraq and Kuwait.