Iran's rimdan free zone: Iran's Rimdan Free Zone is emerging as a major trade and transit hub in the country's southeast, with plans to attract major investment in 88 projects and raise annual trade through the border crossing to $7.5-8 billion. Located in Sistan and Baluchestan Province near Pakistan, Rimdan has strategic access to the markets of Pakistan and India, and is relatively close to Pakistan's Gwadar port. Its location also offers potential links to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Mohammad-Saeed Arbabi, head of the Chabahar Free Zone Organization, stated that Rimdan had handled nearly 320,000 tons of goods and nearly 13,000 truck movements during the first four months of the current Iranian year, which began on March 21. The trade included 144,296 tons of exports to Pakistan, 163,064 tons of imports from Pakistan, and 12,638 tons of transit goods destined for other countries, he added.
Arbabi highlighted the ultimate goal of increasing traffic to 1,000 trucks a day, potentially raising annual trade to as much as $8 billion based on 300 working days a year. He explained that Rimdan was being developed beyond a traditional border crossing into an integrated commercial and logistics center, with plans for warehouses, cold-storage facilities, an international terminal, a logistics park, processing and manufacturing units, and customs infrastructure.
The official mentioned that 201.01 trillion rials in investment had been approved for 88 projects in areas including food processing, logistics, storage, petroleum products, LPG, energy, and infrastructure. Investment contracts worth 25.4 trillion rials had also been signed during the first four months of the year. Rimdan officially began operating as a detached part of the Chabahar Free Zone in March 2026. Development plans include expanding trade, transit, storage, processing, energy, and logistics services.
Arbabi noted that the zone could provide Iran with a shorter and more economical land route to Pakistan and help expand access to the country's market. It could also facilitate access to India's 1.4-billion population and strengthen Iran's links with CPEC. Among the key measures sought to accelerate development are establishing a modern joint customs facility, allowing Iranian trucks to travel to Gwadar, upgrading Rimdan customs to 24-hour operations, developing a dedicated truck route to Pakistan, and accelerating the construction of the Chabahar-Rimdan railway.
The railway, if completed, could provide a direct link between Chabahar, Rimdan, and the CPEC, strengthening Iran's role in regional trade and transit, the official said.