India’s investment in Chabahar port paying dividends

As per details shared by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the parliament on Thursday, the Chabahar port, which has provided much needed sea-access to the landlocked countries of the region, including Afghanistan, has emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region.

According to the government of India, a total of 2.5 million tons of wheat and two thousand tons of pulses has been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan through Chabahar Port till date.

The port was used to supply humanitarian assistance, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Under this, India utilized the Chabahar

port to ship 75,000 MTs of wheat as humanitarian food assistance to Afghanistan in 2020. In 2021, India supplied 40,000 litres of environment-friendly pesticide to Iran to fight locust menace.

The said information was shared by the government of India while responding to a question asked by Congress Rajya Sabha MP and senior lawyer, Vivek Tankha.

The port has been utilized by the other Central Asian Countries to access the global market and has increased trade and economic opportunities for the traders of the region as It is a more economical and stable route for landlocked countries of the region to reach India and the global market.

The trilateral agreement to set up the International Transport and Transit Corridor (Chabahar Agreement) was signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan during the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016.

As per the 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.

India, under this agreement,  has committed total grant assistance of USD 85 Million and a credit facility of USD 150 Million for the development of the terminal and has  supplied 6 Mobile Harbour Cranes (two 140 tons and four 100 tons capacity) and other equipment worth USD 25 Million.

In December 2018, the Indian company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), through its wholly owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), took over the operations of the Chabahar Port and since then, it has handled 215 vessels, 16,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and 4 million tons of bulk and general cargo.