Mahshahr

Mahshahr is the center of development of Iran’s petrochemical industry. This city covers an area of 7304 square kilometers. It is located southeast of Khuzestan Province, next to Khor Mousa Canal, which leads to Persian Gulf. This city is situated three meters above the sea level and consists of the central district, Imam Khomeini Port, and Hendijan. The city is 1032 kilometers away from Tehran. Mahshahr maintains a humid climate. Its maximum temperature in summertime is nearly 48 degrees Celsius and its average annual temperature stands at 24 degrees Celsius. It was previously known as Ma’shur Port, and is considered as one of the oldest ports of the Persian Gulf, which has been known by its current name as of the year 1960 AD. This port is divided into two old and new districts. The new district of the city of Mahshahr has been constructed for the main purpose of export of oil, and it was considered as the largest oil exporting port in Iran prior to construction of Khark Island oil installations. New Mahshahr is located three kilometers away from Old Mahshahr. The people of Mahshahr reside in the old district. Moreover, the state-run organizations are also situated in this district. The countless economic advantages of Khor Mousa Canal led the National Petrochemical Industrial Company to further develop petrochemical industry in this region as of the year 1991 AD. This in turn has resulted in the economic growth and development of Mahshahr and a rise in the population of this port. Meanwhile, the River Maroun runs through the outskirts of this port, while Kalaat historical town, Salehak ancient village, and Basif Castle are the most important historical monuments of Mahshahr. In addition to oil export installations, this port is home to liquid gas and natural gas exporting factory. Moreover, the huge petrochemical installations are situated twenty kilometers away from this port, attaching further significance to this major port. Imam Khomeini Port is situated northwest of the Persian Gulf, ninety kilometers east of the cities of Abadan and Khoramshahr. This port maintains highly appropriate grounds for development. Imam Khomeini port leads to Persian Gulf via Khor Mousa Canal. The oil tankers which head for Mahshahr Port should pass through Khor Mousa Canal. This is one of the most important canals and waterways in the world, and ships should pass through this Canal in order to gain entry to Imam Khomeini and Mahshahr ports. Imam Khomeini Port has thirty-six piers and is the largest port in Iran. In general, the largest ships that can carry cargoes to Iran, dock at Imam Khomeini Port. The place of residence of the locals of Imam Khomeini Port has been transferred to the city of Sarbandar as of the year 1973. The capacity of Imam Khomeini Port for loading and unloading goods stands at over four million tons per annum. This port has significantly grown and developed in recent years as the result of development of petrochemical industry. The especial petrochemical economic zone covers an area of nearly 2600 hectares and is located on the coastlines of Persian Gulf, southeastern Iran. This economic zone has been established to develop industry and trade, especially the petrochemical industry and downstream industries, to fulfill economic interests, to absorb modern technologies, and to create more jobs. In regard to its geographical position, this economic zone leads to international waters via Khor Mousa Canal, and maintains access to Turkey, Europe, and Central Asia via the nationwide railroad. This economic zone also acts as a strategic and influential base in oil and gas rich regions of Iran. Dear listeners, a large part of Iran’s oil and petrochemical industries are located next to this economic zone; which can be a major source of raw materials for downstream petrochemical industries in the region. In continuation of today’s episode, we become familiar with Imam Khomeini Port Petrochemical Complex, which is one of the major petrochemical projects launched after the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. This petrochemical complex covers an area of 270 hectares and is located northwest of Persian Gulf, between Imam Khomeini and Mahshahr ports. This complex was previously known as Iran-Japan Corporation, and its construction started in the year 1975 AD. Upon the exit of the personnel of the related Japanese contractor from Iran in the year 1979 AD, this project came to a halt. During the imposed war, this complex was the target of some twenty airstrikes, which inflicted major losses on the complex. In the year 1989 AD, the Japanese company which was a party to the related contract pulled out this partnership, alleging that reconstruction of this complex is not economically worthwhile. As of this date, Islamic Republic of Iran took charge of completion of the petrochemical complex. The complex was rebuilt in a period of five years and within four phases, with the assistance of European and Iranian companies. The last phase of its reconstruction was solely carried out by committed Iranian experts. Dear listeners, “Imam Khomeini” Petrochemical Complex maintains several affiliated companies and manufactures several products. These products are of paramount importance and are consumed in oil, steel, rubber and film industries. The fact of the matter is that currently Imam Khomeini Petrochemical Complex manufactures the raw materials of thousands of factories. Note that in the design and construction of this petrochemical complex, protection of the environment in land and sea, and compliance with environmental standards have been taken into consideration. Furthermore, Razi Petrochemical Complex is situated in Imam Khomeini Port, northeast of Khor Mousa Canal, covering an area of 80 hectares. This complex is the largest producer of ammonia, urea, sulfuric acid, and sulfur, and the only producer of phosphoric acid in Iran. Each of the dozens of factories, located in the especial petrochemical economic zone, highly contribute to development of Iran’s economy. Imam Khomeini Port The Port lies at the extreme northwest part of the Persian Gulf. It is situated at east of Abadan and Khoramshahr and southeast of Ahwaz. Imam Khomeini Port is connected to the Persian Gulf via Khormousa estuary. It is one of the world's most important natural canals. Vessels of up to 100,000 tones ought to pass through this canal en route to Bandar Imam Khomeini and Mahshahr. Imam Khomeini Port is currently Iran's largest marine terminal. It has 36 docks with an annual loading/unloading capacity Of over 4 million tones and storage capacity of 1 million tone. The development of the petrochemical industry in the region in the past recent years has aided in considerable growth of the port. Bandar Imam Khomeini, Razi and Farabi Petrochemical Complexes as well as Bandar Imam Petrochemical Special Economic Zone are among the country's largest industrial establishments that are located in this port city.