The Chabahar port that is fast coming up on the Iranian coast will help India to reach out to Afghanistan, Central Asia and West Asia alike.
Situated on the Gulf of Oman near the Iranian border with Pakistan, Chabahar is just 299 kilometers (186 miles) east of one of the world’s most critical passageways for oil tankers, the Strait of Hormuz.
In May 2015, India and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding whereby India pledged to invest $85 million in to build two berths in the first phase. India will spend another $110 million in the second phase to develop a 901-kilometer railway linking Chabahar to the iron ore mines in Hajigak, Afghanistan. So far, Iran has invested $340 million in the port project and has declared the surrounding area a free trade industrial zone.
The port could benefit both nations, says a Stratfor analysis.
85 percent of Iran’s sea-borne traffic is processed through the country’s other port in Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz, which can handle only 100,000-metric ton ships. Larger ships must first off-load at the Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates enroute to Iran.
Chabahar — a deep-water port — could alleviate the problem by being able to process larger ships, not to mention diversifying Iran’s ports of entry.
For India, the port is part of New Delhi’s broader strategy of engaging the West Asia, expanding its trade routes with Central Asia with a trade inlet to Afghanistan while by-passing Pakistan, which has been denying overland access to Afghanistan from Atari –Wagah border post.
—YAMARAR