Financial Tribune - The document targets a 44% decline in freight fuel consumption (down from 9.6 billion liters to 5.4 billion liters), a 12% decrease in expenses caused by road accidents and a 15% reduction in environmental pollution expenses.

Iran�s Logistics Centers Planning Document, which aims to reduce transportation expenses by up to 30% when fully implemented, was ratified by the High Council of Transportation on Aug. 21 and notified by the now-outgoing Roads Minister Abbas Akhoundi on Sept. 10 to all bodies involved in the implementation of the document.

"The document is aimed at coordinating different modes of freight transportation and encouraging collaboration," says the director general of the Transport and Logistics Comprehensive Planning Bureau with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development�s Transportation Department.

�It�s the light ushering us toward higher efficiency and productivity in transportation network. Our guideline was the current freight flow in the country. There were a lot of requests coming in from investors, each of whom wanted to establish a logistics center. Yet, we had no major plan to give us a bird�s-eye view and help us decide what amount of investment in what kind of a logistics center will be economically and strategically viable in a particular spot,� Mehdi Safari Moqaddam told Financial Tribune in an interview.