Here is how India will gain from the strategic pact for developing Chabahar Port

India has finally signed the much-awaited pact that would allow it to develop the strategic Chabahar port, which is considered to be a major breakthrough for India's trade with West Asia. Here is everything you need to know about it:

1) About Chabahar

The port of Chabahar, located in southeastern Iran in the Gulf of Oman, is the only Iranian port that has a direct access to the ocean.

2) About the pact

As per the pact, India will develop the Chabahar port and then operate it under India Ports Global, a recently formed port project investment arm of the shipping ministry, a joint venture between the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the Kandla port. $85 Million is expected to be invested in developing the two container berths that would be 640 metres long and three multi-cargo berths.
The 10-year contract is extendable, and after 18 months, phase one of the port construction is supposed to be completed. India won’t have to guarantee any cargo for the port in the first two years, after which it will facilitate 30,000 TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent) of cargo at the port, a quantum that will rise to 2,50,000 TEUs by the 10th year.

Also, state-run railway body IRCON International will set up a railway line at Chabahar so that goods can be moved right up to Afghanistan via the 500-km rail link between Chabahar and Zahedan that will also link Delhi to the rest of Iran's railway network.

3) About its importance

The port will allow India to circumvent Pakistan while transporting goods to Afghanistan via a sea-land route, which at present isn’t possible because of Pakistan’s concerns about India’s dominance.

Also, the International North-South Transport Corridor, of which both are initial signatories along with Russia, will also pick momentum because of this pact. The objective of this corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities of these countries, like Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, and Astrakhan.

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