Indian government feels that the use of Chabahar port in southwestern Iran may be beneficial for the country as it would provide easier access to Afghanistan.
India, Iran and Afghanistan have an agreement on preferential treatment and low tariffs for goods moved through Chabahar port, which also has a free trade and industrial zone in its vicinity.
In order to take advantage of this port, the Indian government wants to invest some $100 million on the port infrastructure.
Some reports indicate that the Iranian port is considered strategically and economically important for the countryÂ’s exports to landlocked Afghanistan.
India’s largest container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), plans to develop container terminals at Chabahar port, while Kandla port, IndiaÂ’s biggest port by cargo handled, will also participate in the port project.
Chabahar is an important port along the Makaran coast and offers Iran easy access to the Indian Ocean.Union cabinet cleared the proposal to develop infrastructure in Chabahar port and a delegation led by Shipping Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha visited the Iranian port to take the proposal forward.
The current move is also seen as a strategy to counter ChinaÂ’s recent takeover of the deep-sea port at Gwadar in south western Pakistan, which is some 72 nautical miles away from Chabahar.
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