Elektrans Global

Development of Chabahar Port

The Port of Chabahar (or Chah Bahar) is a seaport in Chah Bahar in southeastern Iran. Its location lies in the Gulf of Oman. It is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean. The port was partially built by India in the 1990s to provide access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

It is located in the south of Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Because of its establishments and ease of access to Oman Sea and Persian Gulf, long ago it was the center of business, trade and navigation.

The Iranian government has signed a MOU with the government of India to develop Chabahar port. India will get direct access to Afghanistan through this sea route after the completion of the project.  In Sept 2015, India announced development of an Urea production plant and Iran's associated infrastructure. Indian minister of transport pledged to invest around $1 billion for the development.  The port will be used to ship crude oil and urea.

India intends to lease two berths at Chabahar for 10 years. The port will be developed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which will invest USD 85.21 million to convert the berths into a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminal.

The cargo terminals at Chabahar Port would provide Afghanistan’s garland road network system alternate access to a sea port, significantly enhancing Afghanistan’s overall connectivity to regional and global markets.

Touching upon Iran and India's ancient and historical relations, Iranian President in his meeting with Indian minister of transport, underscored that undoubtedly the level of mutual cooperation could be expanded day by day.

Pointing to Iran's transit position for connecting east to west and north to south, he stressed that the Islamic Republic could play a pivotal role in connecting India to Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe via railway.

Noting the importance of North-South Transport Corridor and development of Iranian ports, the Iranian president stressed that Iran fully welcomes the Indian investors to make investment in construction of roads, railways and development of Chabahar port and other southern ports in Iran. Referring to the cordial relations between the two countries, the Indian minister of transport said New Delhi is fully ready to cooperate with Tehran on development of Chabahar port.

From Chahbahar port using the existing Iranian road network, a link up to Zaranj in Afghanistan and then using the Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009, access to Afghanistan's Garland Highway can be made. This would establish road access to four of the major cities of Afghanistan - Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif.

The port would open up new routes to Central Asia and the Gulf.

We are looking forward to the development of Chabahar port as it would provide an interface between sea and land routes between Iran, Afghanistan and India, and further north to the central Asian countries for trade and commerce, and mutual benefits.