Chabahar Port can handle 50 million tonnes of Cargo while Gwadar stands at 400 million tonnes
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ISLAMABAD -- Former Pakistani ambassador to China strongly believes that Chabahar and Gwadar ports complement each other and connecting the two ports would be an important chunk in Iran-Pakistan relations.
Talking to IRNA, Tajammul Altaf said that Iran’s joining the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be a welcoming development.
Under the CPEC many infrastructure projects are under construction throughout Pakistan. Originally valued at $46 billion, the value of CPEC projects is now worth $ 62 billion. The project will link Pakistani Gwadar port to China Xinjiang province.
Tajammul Altaf added there is convergence of interests and the leaders of Iran and Pakistan are positively looking at this equation which is Chabahar complementing Gwadar.
“Chabahar is capable of handling 50 million tonnes of cargo whereas Gwadar can handle 400 million tonnes of cargo,” he said.
“Our leadership is on the same page when they say this complementarity irrespective of the fact that India is one of the biggest investors in Chabahar project, should be carried out for the benefit of both Iran and China,” former ambassador said.
Tajammul Altaf expressing his views said Chinese leadership also wants both Chabahar-Gwadar complement each other and that is very encouraging.
“Why we should think to isolate Chabahar from Gwadar, if Iranians are ready to join CPEC it is good for Pakistan,” the analyst said.
He added Chinese would also welcome that. “We are improving our relations with Iran and linking Chabahar-Gwadar ports with each other would be an important chunk in that,” he noted.
Earlier Ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost had said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a project with great potential urging other countries in the region to join it and bolster regional cooperation.
