A contract will be finalized with India on the development of Iran’s southeastern port of Chabahar within the next two weeks, an Iranian deputy minister of roads said.
Ali Akbar Safaei — who is also the CEO of the Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) of Iran — announced that the previously agreed details of the contract between Iran and India on the development of Chabahar have changed, Tasnim news agency reported.
The problems in the contract were all settled after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office in August 2021, he said, adding that the only outstanding provision of the contract will be drafted in less than a month.
India has undertaken an investment of $85 million in the development of the first phase of Chabahar Port on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, Safaei added, noting that the second phase of the project will be carried out with the investment of foreign companies.
The deputy roads minister put the total investment made so far by India in the development of the Beheshti Port of Chabahar at $25 million, which, he said, mainly includes gantry and coastal cranes.
The Indians are committed to supplying a set of equipment such as coastal, gantry, and yard cranes, as well as the equipment needed to load and unload cargo at the port, he continued.
The long-term contract, which will be finalized soon, is expected to serve the interests of the country, Safaei concluded.