Daily Times

NEW DELHI: India is going to sign a contract with Iran for building a strategic port on Monday, that will help India to access central Asia and Afghanistan – said Indian government. 

The Chabahar port has been wanted to be built for years now but India has forced hard for the project now due to the scaling back of Western sanctions against Iran. China is keen to invest in this Chabahar project.

The treaty will be signed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Iran that starts from Sunday. Under this treaty, India will develop two terminals and cargo berths at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman.

The foreign ministry official, who is in-charge for Iranian ties Gopal Baglay, said that India is going to invest more than $200 million for this project and out of which $150 million will be taken on credit from Indian Bank Exim.

“The focus of the trip is connectivity and infrastructure,” Baglay told reporters. Since India is blocked to access Afghanistan through land, this port will allow India to access central Asian countries. It should be seen as a threat from India.

Chabahar port will act as a hub for Iran, India and Afghanistan and each of these three counties will sign a separate agreement for trading and transporting. Roads and rail tracks are going to be constructed to access Iranian port by Afgghanistan that will be an alternative for Pakistan’s Gawadar port.

“The trilateral agreement will be a game changer for regional connectivity especially for Afghanistan which can find an assured and reliable alternate access to India via sea,” Baglay said.

The distance between Gawadar and Chabahar will be 60 miles. China is investing 46m USD for Gawadar’s construction.

The Chinese project, coming on top of investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives raised uneasiness in India about China’s expanding reach in the region and provoked faster movement on the Iranian project.

“A major flaw in India’s current policy towards Iran has been the lack of implementation of signed agreements,” said Meena Singh Roy, an expert on India’s ties with Iran at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.