The recent tension in West Asia, marked by the Iranian-Israeli conflict and American bomb attacks, made India to quickly monitor its plan to develop rail and road infrastructure in Chabahar port. This would change to the preferred port of the call for the movement of all Indian goods designed for Central Asian countries and Afghanistan and reduced the dependence on Bandar Abbas.
The Chabahar not only provides India an alternative access point to Central Asia and Afghanistan, but also bypass both Pakistan and the Chinese-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC). This offers India greater regional connectivity and business possibilities, reducing its relying on Pakistan and potentially strengthening its geopolitical influence in the region.
“Work is underway to improve and expand the equipment in the port of Chabahar and the port is also constantly increasing the container and cargo at its terminal. Very soon the port will connect with the main railway and road networks in Iran, allowing it to become the main port for moving consignments from India to Iran, Afghanistan, Afghanistan and other Centralian Republics,” Ramacandran.
With me
- India prefers the port of Chabahar as the main trading gateway to Central Asia and Afghanistan to reduce the dependence on Bandar Abbas and the Strait of Hormuz Chokepoint.
- Geopolitical tension in West Asia, including the Iranian-Israeli conflict, accelerated Indian pressure on the development of the Chabahar rail and road infrastructure.
- Chabahar offers India significant strategic advantages, bypass Pakistan and CPEC and increases regional connectivity and business possibilities.
- The harbor constantly sees increased volumes of cargo, with its capacity to determine significantly, which increases its operation increasingly viable.
- India and Iran quickly monitor the new railway route connecting the Chabahar with Zahedan, in order to integrate the port into the International North-South Traffic Corridor (INSTC) by 2026-2027.
- After years of delay due to western sanctions, a long -term agreement on the development of the Chabahar with operating terminals India Ports Global LTD (IPGL) was signed in May 2024.
He said that the port did not meet during the conflict of Israel and Iran and normally worked with all construction work, including the projects of extension and connectivity, continuing continuous.
“The aim of the port of Chabahar is to make him the main port for Indian shipments linked to the Central Asian Republic, and we are moving in this direction,” Ramacandran said.
Key port Bandar Abbas now
Currently, Indian shipments are mainly used by Bandar Abbas, the largest Iranian port. But the growing tension in West Asia and the Persian Gulf area is a threat to this port, close to Hormuz, the famous Chokepoint. In recent days, the threat of Iran has closed Hormuz Strait of Hormuz. Closing would make the shipments to and outside the Gulf and increase oil prices.
Chabahar, is away from the Hormuz Strait and has a huge opening towards the Arabian sea. As a result, the port is not only strategically important to India, but also one that supports continuous consignments even at the time of tension in West Asia.
Indian focus on projects in Iran also assumes importance due to deterioration of indication-pacist bonds after the April terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam.
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“The Indian and Iranian authorities are trying to ensure the port of the port and the infrastructure should be available soon,” Ramacandran said.
According to the plan, India, together with Iran, would quickly monitor the development of a new railway route between the port of Chabahar and Zahedan City. This could turn the port to the gateway to the International North -South Traffic Corridor (InstIT) and provide the main trade channel for Central Asian and Eurasian countries on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea and Afghanistan. The railway line is expected to be prepared by 2026 or early 2027.
The rush for rail connectivity is because the port operation has now become viable with picking up the movement of container and dry mass, as Chabahar becomes the main trading channel for India.
According to the Ministry of Harbor, transport and waterways (PUPSW), the Chabahar, according to the FY25, processed a significant volume of cargo and reached up to 80,000 TEUs and 3 million tonnes of bulk cargo. By comparison, it managed to do just over 64,000 Teus in FY24 and only about 9,000 Teus a year before. The port was processed by 2.12 MT of bulk cargo in FY24 and 2.08 MT in FY23.
TEU is a scale of volume in units of twenty feet long containers.
The port has a current capacity of 100,000 Teus, which will increase to 500,000 Teus in the next few years, the 8MT mass capacity will soon be doubled.
Working on the 700 km long Chabahar-Zahedan railway lines were very slow, although the Indian railway and Iranian rail and development infrastructures (CDTIC) signed a memorandum of understanding in 2016 because it emerges in 2016.
Form
Things began to form when India and Iran signed a long -term contract for the development of the Chabahar port after years of lengthy negotiations. IPGL (India Ports Global LTD) took over Shahid Beheshti terminals in Chabahar.
Device. which includes a container terminal and a bed with multiple Cargo, is functional and provides services for a mass and container. IPGL offers a number of schemes offered to support the use of the Harbor Chabahar including discounts, longer times of free storage for cargo, etc.
The port has a deep move that can handle larger vessels. In addition, ships calling for Chabahar avoid traffic jam and waiting time in Anchorage, which are outside Hormuz. The journey to Zadenan (Iran) and further to Zapranaj (Afghanistan) also provides trouble -free connectivity for moving humanitarian aid from India to Afghanistan through the port of Chabahar.
The port processes a diverse range of products, such as spare parts for cars, agricultural products, iron ore, clinics, etc. and efforts to increase the basket on the product processing on the port.
Also read | After the Chabahar, India is trying to build a port facility in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
The integration of the port with a special free zone is other positive, while Indian incentives such as concessions about the vessel fees and freight costs flow through the Chabahar trade.
In 2003, India agreed to help Iran developed the port and accompanying links to the infrastructure during the visit of President Mohammad Khatami in India. But then the matters slowly proceeded in the middle of Western sanctions.
In 2013, India undertook to provide $ 100 million for the development of Chabahar. Mine) was signed in May 2015. Then it seemed that in 2016 the things were forwarded forward. Indian plans to help in the development of international trade, which included Chabahar as a central transit point, stopped again due to the re -recovery of Western sanctions against Iran.
Increasing regional connectivity
The aim of this current agreement is to increase regional connectivity and facilitate trade, especially between India, Iran and Afghanistan. India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), a subsidiary of IPGL, facilitated the first shipment of exports from Afghanistan to India in 2019.
Operations continued through short -term contracts, while negotiations on the long -term agreement selected the pace with a visit to the Minister of PUPSW Sarbanand Sonowal in Chabahar in August 2022.
Negotiations on the long -term contract were detained due to disagreements on arbitration clauses. Mint said earlier that both parties have achieved accommodation, which will allow arbitration proceedings according to the rules of the framed UN Commission for International Trade Law.
India seeks to strengthen its presence in the key infrastructure along the route passing through the Gulf region. The Adani Group is already operating the HAIFA port in Israel, and more port trades are expected in the region by Indian entities that will strengthen the presence of the country on this strategic route, which is the main gateway for shipments passing from India to Europe.
(Tagstotranslate) Port Chabahar (T) India (T) Central Asian Country (T) Bandar Abbas Port (T) Iran
