A total of 1.55 million tons of goods have been handled at Chabahar Port during the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 21-July 22), according to a local official.
“The figure shows a 33.8% rise compared with the similar period of last year,” Nasser Ravanbakhsh was also quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
More than 589,000 tons of essential goods, including sugar, rice, wheat and animal feed, were imported from Chabahar during the period, registering a 7.7% year-on-year rise, he added.
Essential or necessity goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
A total of 7.66 million tons of essential goods were unloaded at Iran’s southern and northern ports during the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 21-July 22), according to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Last year (March 2021-22), 30.9 million tons of essential goods worth $19.6 billion were imported into the country, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, registering a 32% and 60% rise in weight and value compared with the year before.
Imam Khomeini in the southern Khuzestan Province is the main port of entry for essential goods.
Container Shipping Lines From Chabahar to India, UAE
Container shipping lines have been launched between Chabahar Port of Sistan-Baluchestan province in Iran and two Indian ports of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kandla, as well as the UAE’s Port of Jebel Ali, Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization announced in May.
According to PMO, the transportation fee from Chabahar to Jawaharlal Nehru and Kandla ports and back has been set at $650,000 per 20-foot container. This is while the fee from the southeastern Iranian port to Jebel Ali Port is $250,000 per 20-foot container, IRNA reported.
The PMO says Chabahar’s capacity for transporting SOC and NVOCC containers has increased.
Kandla is a seaport and town in Kutch district of Gujarat state in Western India, near the city of Gandhidham. Located on the Gulf of Kutch, it is one of India's major ports on the west coast.
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, also known as Nhava Sheva Port, is the largest container port in India located in Navi Mumbai’s Raigad district.
The port of Jebel Ali, also known as Mina Jebel Ali, is a deep port located in Jebel Ali, Dubai, the UAE. Jebel Ali is the world's ninth busiest port, the largest manmade harbor and the busiest port in the Middle East.
Significance for India
A bilateral contract between Iran and India was signed on May 23, 2016, with a total value of $85 million for equipping, mechanizing and starting operations at Chabahar Port in the first phase.
In this regard, a special purpose vehicle – India Ports Global Ltd, Mumbai – was incorporated under the shipping ministry.
The development of Chabahar Port can help expand economic and mutual relations between India and Iran, in addition to boosting maritime trade between the two countries.
The location of Chabahar Port has strategic advantage and high potential for providing connectivity among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other Commonwealth of Independent States countries, especially Eastern CIS nations, and increasing trade.
According to the Diplomat, the port has a number of distinguishing features that make it attractive from both domestic and international perspectives. Located on the edge of the Indian Ocean, it is the only deep-sea port in Iran with direct ocean access. Its geographic proximity to countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, as well as its status as a key transit center on the burgeoning International North-South Transportation Corridor, gives it the potential to develop into one of the most important commercial hubs in the region.
New Delhi sees the port as a way to access Afghan and Central Asian markets without relying on Pakistan’s land routes. Furthermore, the port could strengthen Indo-Iranian ties, which could balance out growing Sino-Pakistani cooperation.
With India and China competing to invest in this harbor, Iran is trying to play the two rivals off each other to boost its own international standing while not becoming dominated by either one of these powers. Chabahar Port is thus a key case study in both international collaboration and competition: It could foster a trade revolution in the region, but it could also exacerbate rivalries.
The port has the capacity to transform trade in South and Central Asia. The proposed land-based trade routes linked to the port would facilitate greater access to the Afghan and Central Asian markets. The impact of this increased connectivity has enormous implications for Afghanistan in particular, although the fallout from the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the country could jeopardize these plans moving forward.
Currently, Afghanistan conducts most of its trade via routes going through Pakistan; Chabahar Port could provide an alternative trade outlet for the country. In turn, Chabahar has the potential to generate massive economic growth in Afghanistan, as it would allow goods from other countries to more easily enter the country and bolster its export potential.
The commencement of operations at Chabahar Port has emerged as a silver lining for Iran as the port is located at an ideal strategic location connecting the Indian subcontinent with both Afghanistan as well as Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to emerge as a hub of regional trade by promoting maritime trading operations, reads an article published by Indian news agency Asian News International.
“Chabahar is located in southeastern Iran at the mouth of the Sea of Oman and is blessed with an ideal strategic location connecting the Indian subcontinent with both Afghanistan as well as Central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Chabahar Port offers significant reductions in both cost and shipping times for goods and cargo for trade between India and Afghanistan, as well as for trade between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.”
