Chabahar: A step towards connectivity

New Delhi: India on Monday signed a 10-year contract to operate the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar that will help it expand trade with Central Asia. ET explains siginificance of the port:

Port Significance

Chabahar is a deep-water port located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran. It is the closest Iranian port to India, and is located in the open sea, providing easy and secure access for large cargo ships. The Port has provided the much-needed sea-access to landlocked countries of the region, including Afghanistan, and emerged as a commercial transit hub. Connect with Chabahar Iran inaugurated the Chabahar Port way back in 1973. Thirty years later, India expressed its initial interest in developing the port to bolster connectivity and trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia. This interest materialised in 2008 when India and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding for Chabahar and the development of a transit corridor. However, sanctions on Iran delayed the decision making. Later, India acquired a waiver from the US for use of Chabahar Port for accessing Afghanistan. New Delhi has been insisting Iran to agree to a long-term pact enabling India to manage the port and invest additional financial resources. Every high-level meeting between India and Iran has been marked by discussions on the Chabahar Port.

PM Modi signs pact with IranA pact on Chahbahar was signed in 2016 during Modi’s visit to Iran. A tripartite agreement was signed in 2016 between India-Afghanistan-Iran on the port. In 2018, when Hassan Rouhani, the then Iran president, visited India, the issue of expanding India’s role at the port figured prominently. It also came up when foreign minister S Jaishankar was in Tehran in January 2024.Indian merchandise transitIndia took over the operations of the Chabahar Port with effect from 24.12.2018. Since then, it has handled traffic of more than 90,000 TEUs of container traffic and more than 8.4 MMT of bulk and general cargo. The port has also facilitated the supply of humanitarian assistance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.Till date, a total of 2.5 million tonnes of wheat and 2,000 tonnes of pulses have been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan through Chabahar Port. In 2021, India supplied 40,000 litres of environment friendly pesticide (Malathion) to Iran to fight locust menace through the port. There are plans by India to develop an SEZ at Chabahar Port. Railroad connectivity between Chabahar Port and Zahedan has been delayed due to sanctions on the Iranian authority designated to build the railroad.

Central Asian connectivityResource-rich but landlocked Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have been keen to utilise Chabahar to access the Indian Ocean Region and Indian market. The port will also be handy for Indian traders and investors interested in Central Asia. Uzbekistan has been keen to form a trilateral involving India and Iran for the use of the port. Uzbekistan has plans to connect Chabahar Port through rail road via Afghanistan and Northern Iran. Kazakhstan has been able to develop its terminal in Chabahar Port to connect with Gujarat ports. For the landlocked Central Asian states, Chabahar Port provides access to the Indian Ocean Region. Pakistan has been trying to woo the Central Asian states to utilise Karachi port to access the Indian Ocean Region. However, India has been indicating to the Central Asian countries that Chabahar will be a more attractive proposition.

Connecting with INSTCPlans have been afoot to connect Chabahar Port with the INSTC providing another entry point from the INSTC besides Bandar Abbas. Armenia is also keen to get attached to the port through the INSTC. Russia has also been for full utilisation of Chabahar Port that will help India access resource rich parts of the vast country. With an increase in trade and investments between Gulf states and Central Asia, Chabahar will come handy due to its location.