As many as 53 companies have requested to invest in Chabahar, Iran’s only oceanic port, a senior official says.
Over the last 11 months, some 170 Iranian and foreign delegations have visited the port which Iran intends to develop by attracting private and public sector investments.
“These visits have led to 53 investment requests and the conclusion of seven contracts worth 4,080 billion rials ($100 million),” ports and maritime managing director in Sistan and Baluchestan province Behrouz Aqaee told Tasnim news agency Tuesday.
Exports from the port rose 41 percent in the 11 months ending on February 20, he added.
For years, India has presented itself as the key stakeholder in Chabahar’s development, but it has taken baby steps toward translating its ambitions into concrete actions.
Under US pressure, India has stopped buying oil from Iran, one of its top suppliers, and moved gingerly on its long-cherished dream of extending New Delhi’s reach to Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond via Chabahar.
The map shows how Chabahar Port in Iran can link India with Afghanistan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his country would spend $500 million to develop Chabahar and related infrastructure to boost growth and spur the unhindered flow of commerce in the region. But funds have flowed in small scattered and sporadic amounts.
India’s dithering is frustrating because Chabahar is exempted from US sanctions which New Delhi has strictly been observing.
In a rare move, the US has exempted Chabahar from its draconian sanctions, citing its pivotal role in bringing landlocked Afghanistan out of isolation. Afghans see the Iranian port as a gate to international markets, hoping it would boost their war-torn country’s trade.
Last December, Iran and India agreed to speed up the development of Chabahar port which New Delhi views as a gateway to access Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced the news after meeting Iranian officials in Tehran where the two sides took a stock of the state of bilateral relations after the US reimposition of sanctions on Tehran.
Indian reports said last month the government had unlocked another $14 million for the development of Chabahar. Meanwhile, Iran gave the go-ahead to two Afghan banks to open branches in the port.
The Indian government has begun commercial operations in parts of the Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar by taking over the terminal area and cargo handling equipment.
India wants to develop two terminals with five berths at the Shahid Beheshti area in Chabahar. It plans to build a 600-meter cargo terminal and a 640-meter container terminal, but only a portion of the two berths have been finished.