Extended Abstract
Introduction
The purpose of this research is to identify and suggest suitable places for the construction of a dry port in order to support the ports of Gilan province. Traffic problems in ports, the large volume of goods, the need to carry out faster and easier logistics and customs affairs for the transportation of container goods in production and consumption areas far from the main port, the use of railway lines to facilitate matters require the location of ports called dry ports. which do not have direct access to the sea. Container transport represents not only about 16% of the total maritime transport tonnage but also about 60% of the total value of international trade.
The benefits of creating a port are important in various aspects. Dry ports are usually established to accelerate national and international business, create and increase international interactions, promote regional economic development and strengthen port competition in the field of transportation and logistics, information processing and creating added value. These ports are divided into three categories: 1- far from the coast, 2- with an average distance from the coast, 3- close to the coast.
 Studies have shown that during the sanctions in our country, the use of ports in the north of the country to transport goods mainly between Iran and four other coastal countries increases. This issue has made the authorities to think of a solution with the aim of locating the dry port and the necessity of its construction, which this article has discussed about Gilan province. In Iran, logistics centers are called Logistics Park, Container Terminal, and dry port, which are mentioned in the Law on Permanent Provisions of the Country's Development Plans and the Law on the Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports. In the intergovernmental agreement on dry ports of Iran, it is committed In line with the development of combined transport and transit in Asia and the Pacific, develop dry ports of international importance according to the standards accepted by the Commission for Economic and Social Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific (SCOPE). Considering that the construction of a port has different effects on the major social, economic and strategic aspects of the regions, if there are suitable port areas with higher accuracy and reliability, upstream study plans such as the comprehensive coastal areas management plan (ICZM) the country becomes possible.
Unfortunately, the logistics index of Iran LPI in 2023 with a score of 2.3 in the world is ranked 123 and the use of dry ports can help to improve this index to some extent.
One of the questions and innovations of this research was determining the type of dry port, which was determined by a ten-year statistical survey and the opinion of experts, the type far from the coast and in Qazvin province.
Methodology
At first, the mandatory indicators for the establishment of a dry port were studied in the library and the valid articles of the internet day were reviewed in the world. By using the opinions of academic and executive experts of relevant organizations, the relevant indicators were confirmed, validated and adapted. After a statistical survey of the cargo volume of the ports of Gilan province and other northern provinces (Mazandaran and Golestan) and a total of 8 more provinces related to this area and by examining the DEM maps, Shape file of Gilan province and neighboring provinces as well as the newly established railway track of the province Gilan and the existing rail routes of Tehran, Qazvin, Rasht and under development Hassan Rood, Bandar Anzali and Astara, and according to the opinion of experts and scientific compliance, it was determined that in order to benefit more from the investment, the establishment of a dry port far from the coast in Qazvin province should be done. Therefore, at this stage, the identification of important parameters in the location of areas prone to the construction of dry port in Qazvin province was done by asking the experts again and 20 important factors were identified. Then, according to the relevant factors, the number of 10 most important factors whose information layer map was available was examined and compared, and a pairwise comparison questionnaire was designed to weight the desired parameters.
 
 
Results and Discussion
According to the variables and the relative weight coefficients of the indicators calculated by the experts using the AHP method, the final weighting of each criterion and the prioritization of the criteria were determined in the Expert Choice software environment, and rail transport lines were identified as the most important factor. Then, the production and analysis of the weighted overlay map of the spatial information layers was done using ArcGIS software. The findings showed that the criteria of rail transport lines, vegetation and road access respectively have the highest weight and land use criteria, faults and waterways respectively have the lowest weight assigned to them.
Conclusion
The results showed that the criteria of rail transport lines, vegetation cover and access to the road are the most located in the area of rail transport and adjacent to the cities of Abyek and Qazvin and the area between these two cities. The second criterion is the road. It is located in the middle areas of the province with the highest weight. All four criteria of rail transport, road transport, land and soil use and to some extent fault had more weight. The largest volume of areas with low altitude is located in the middle of the province and most of it is located in Buin Zahra city and in Qazvin city, and to some extent it includes all 4 important cities, and for this reason, these areas are the most suitable places for the construction of a dry port. On the other hand, criteria such as population and waterways had less weight and are less important than them. At the end of the map, 5 spatial priorities of the locations prone to the construction of the dry port were prepared, specified and suggested
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.