China Keen to Use Iran’s Chabahr Port to Transit Goods from Gwadar: Official
TEHRAN
(Tasnim) – Iran has received a request from China to establish a connection
between Pakistan’s Gwadar port - which Chinese companies are developing - and
Iran’s southeastern port of Chabahar, an official said.
Abdolrahim Kordi, the managing
director of Chabahar Free Trade Zone, was quoted by Iran’s media as saying that
Beijing had informed Tehran that it was interested in using Chabahr to transit
goods from Gwadar to regional and extra-regional destination points.
Kordi emphasized that there was no competition
between Iran’s Chabahar and Pakistan’s Gawadr, stressing that the two could
complement each other in terms of market access potentials.
Nevertheless, the official
emphasized that the advantages of Chabahar were better than Gwadar in terms of
road and rail connection facilities to key transportation points in regions as
far as Central Asia and Europe.
Iran started an ambitious project to
develop Chabahar port in 2007 through an investment that officials previously
said already amounted to $1 billion.
The annual cargo tonnage of the port
has now almost tripled to reach as high as 8.5 million tons.
It can also accommodate 100,000-ton
ships – what officials say can help promote the country’s international trade
activities.
The overall development project is
planned in four phases and is expected to bring the port's total annual cargo
capacity to 82 million ton.
The development of Chabahr port is
being carried out by India. The country has committed $500 million to Chabahar
which lies on the Gulf of Oman, aiming to join an increasingly important
transport corridor to resource-rich regional countries.
Massive investment plans are already
on the cards, with the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering to
build a sprawling artery of roads and railways which is estimated to cost $15
billion.
When development is complete,
Chabahar will link with the International North-South Transportation Corridor
(INSTC) which is currently stretches from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas in
the Persian Gulf to Russia, Eurasia and Europe
author: D-Ezatiyan - Date: 12/30/2017