Ficci hails India, Iran pact on development of Chabahar Port

NEW DELHI: The development of Chabahar Port in Iran would help India to get sea-land access route to Afghanistan besides reducing transportation costs of domestic traders, industry body Ficci said today.

The chamber hailed the agreement between India and Iran for the development of the port and said that it is of "great strategic utility" for India which will create a sea-land access route to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan.

The agreement was signed on May 6 by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Iran's Minister for Transport and Urban Development Abbas Ahmad Akhoundi.

"The port will be used to ship crude oil and urea, saving India transportation costs by one-third," the chamber said in a statement.

It said that the Port would also significantly enhance Afghanistan's overall connectivity to regional and global markets.

It said that India intends to lease two berths at Chabahar for 10 years.

"The port will be developed through a special purpose vehicle which will invest USD 85.21 million to convert the berths into a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminal," it said.

The Indian side will transfer ownership of the equipment to Iran's Port and Maritime Organisation without any payment at the end of the tenth year, it added.