India has already supplied port equipment worth about USD 24 million to develop the Chabahar Port in Iran and the process for procurement of remaining port equipment for Chabahar Port is underway, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has stated.
He was replying to a question in Rajya Sabha on Thursday on the current status of the Chabahar Port.
In May 2015, India and Iran signed an MoU on ‘Partnership of India in the Development Plan of Chabahar Port’. This was followed by the signing of a Trilateral Agreement in May 2016 between India, Iran and Afghanistan to establish the International Transport and Transit Corridor (Chabahar Agreement).
India is participating in the development of the first phase of the Shahid Beheshti Terminal, Chabahar Port in cooperation with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Minister stated.
On 24 December 2018, an Indian company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) through its wholly owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), took over the operations of Chabahar Port, according to Jaishankar.
On 13 May 2024, IPGL signed a ten-year contract with the Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO) of the Islamic Republic of Iran for equipping and operating the Shahid Beheshti Terminal of Chabahar Port.
“The grant assistance for the supply of equipment has been enhanced to USD 120 million. India has also committed to provide a Line of Credit of USD 250 million in rupee equivalent for the development of Chabahar Port. Since 2018, the port has handled over 450 vessels, 1,34,082 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent) of containerised cargo and more than 8.7 million tons of bulk and general cargo,” the Minister informed.
Chabahar Port is India’s gateway to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eastern part of Russia and there are plans to link the Chabahar Port with the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC). Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have shown keen interest to use Chabahar Port to access the Indian Ocean Region and the Indian market.