NEW DELHI – Iran has handed over the Chabahar Port operations to India foran initial lease of 18 months extending up to 10 Years.
India is all set to start operations on a part of the Chabahar Port byMay-end on borrowed Iranian equipment, two senior government officialsfamiliar with the matter said, Hindustan Times has reported.
The internal arrangement to operationalise the port within the next threemonths is part of the agreement signed during Iranian president HassanRouhani’s recent visit to India.
As per the deal, Tehran will lease out operational control of a part ofChabahar Port, to India for 18 months. According to the MoU signed betweenthe two sides in 2016, India will equip and operate two terminals inChabahar Port Phase-I with capital investment of US$85.21 million andannual revenue expenditure of US$ 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.
However, till India procures the equipment to operationalise the port — theprocess for which will take some time — a short-term lease contract hasbeen signed to borrow equipment from Iran to start interim operations on apart of the port where the work is complete.
“We will have a foothold in Chabahar by May. This will give a boost to ourplans to connect India with Afghanistan and central Asia,” shippingsecretary Gopal Krishna said.
India is building a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminalwith a total waterfront length of 1,240 metres. Of this, it wants to startoperation on 360 metres by May-end. “Project Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)will be in place by March-end. We are in the middle of the process toselect the SPV,” said Arun Kumar Gupta, managing director of India PortsGlobal Private Limited (IPGPL).
IPGPL is a joint venture between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and KandlaPort Trust to develop Chabahar. The port, located in the Sistan-BaluchistanProvince of Iran on the south-eastern coast, is of great strategicimportance to India. It will provide the country an alternative andreliable route into Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan, and give it access toresource-rich central Asia.
After his meeting with Rouhani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had saidChabahar was the “golden gateway to Afghanistan and the central Asianregion”.
India, Iran and Afghanistan have already signed a transit agreement foreasy passage of Indian goods to their territory.