India to develop a port in Iran

The Dollar Business Bureau Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Shipping and Road Transport & Highways and Dr Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi, Minister for Transport and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran signed an inter-Governmental MoU on Wednesday, regarding India’s participation in the development of the Chabahar Port in Iran, reported a release by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. With the signing of this MoU, Indian and Iranian commercial entities would now be in a position to commence negotiations towards finalization of a commercial contract under which Indian firms will lease two existing berths at the Port and operationalize them as container and multi-purpose cargo terminals. The availability of a functional container and multipurpose cargo terminal 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, and providing a fillip to the ongoing reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in the country. The port will be developed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which will invest $85.21 million to convert the berths into a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminal.    

May 7, 2015 | 9:19 pm IST.