India needs to ensure necessary infra at Chabahar Port: GTRI

Guwahati: The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) suggests that the Indian government stick to the fact that the Chabahar Port in Iran is not under international sanctions as the project's success is intricately tied to the complex geopolitical environment it operates within. 

India signed a 10-year contract to operate the key Iranian port of Chabahar. Indian Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) and the Port & Maritime Organisation of Iran struck a long-term agreement on Monday. Notably, the expansion of Chabahar Port will help India improve its logistical capacities and increase its trade connections to Central Asia. Economic research tank GTRI added that the essential infrastructure and mechanisms to successfully manage cargo movement at the port must be in place.

Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, which New Delhi had proposed to develop back in 2003, will provide Indian goods a gateway to reach landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia using a road and rail project called International North-South Transport Corridor, bypassing Pakistan. 

According to the GTRI, Chabahar Port, comprising the Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, is strategically located about 170 km west of Pakistan's Gwadar Port. It offers an alternative maritime route to the congested Strait of Hormuz.

Chabahar is also an integral component of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-km multi-modal transportation route connecting India with Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.

This corridor aims to reduce transit times to about 25 days to 20 days fewer than the Suez Canal route and cut freight costs by 30 per cent.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said that the Port's deep draft of 16m is suitable for handling large shipment vessels. The Port lies close to some of the busiest trade routes in the world: the Asia-Europe, Asia-Asia trade route, which carries large cargo volumes. The movement of cargo through this route is expected to save cost by 30 per cent and transportation time by 40 per cent, ensuring quick turnaround at competitive cost.

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