India inks 10-yr agreement with Iran to develop Chabahar port

Sandeep Dikshit

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New Delhi, May 13

India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year agreement to further develop the Chabahar port, a regional connectivity hub connecting India to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eurasia.

India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) will invest approximately $120 million in equipping the port. After witnessing the signing of the contract, Minister for Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal handed over a letter from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Iranian Minister for Roads Mehrdad Bazrpash offering Iran a credit of $250 million for the development aimed at improving Chabahar-related infrastructure. “With the signature of this contract, we have laid the foundation of India’s long-term involvement at Chabahar,” said Sonowal. The political clearance had come after PM Narendra Modi met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit last year and had discussed the pending long-term contract on Chabahar.

Under the contract signed between the IPGL and the Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran, the IPGL will further equip and operate the port for the next 10 years after which both sides will further extend their cooperation in Chabahar.

Chabahar is a deep-water port located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran.

IPGL to invest $120 mn

• India Ports Global Ltd to invest $120 mn in equipping the port
• Chabahar is a deep-water port located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran
• It is the closest Iranian port to India, providing secure access to large cargo ships