Iran is planning to privatise Imam Khomeini port, its largest port in the Gulf, says a senior government official.

It is not clear when the port, which lies about 950 kilometres south-west of Tehran, will be privatised.

Imam Khomeini port covers an area of 1041 hectares and can handle 37 million tonnes of goods per year and 700,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Iran’s economic system should be based on public, cooperative and private sectors according to Article 44 of the country’s constitution.

However, a 2004 amendment to the article illustrates a 10-year plan to privatise 80 per cent of Iran’s state-owned assets.

In late November, Iran’s Privatisation Organisation said that the country had privatised $63bn worth of government equity in state-owned firms since 2005.