The first phase of building the country’s third car manufacturing hub in the southeastern port city of Chabahar will be complete by the end of the next Iranian calendar year (starts March 21, 2015), reported iribnews on Sunday.
The new auto hub will annually produce 10,000 cars when the first phase is complete. Local officials say they want to turn the free trade zone into a main vehicle production location in the region.
Chabahar is a seaport in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan. The port lies on the border of the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Oman and it is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean. The city officials say the two major piers at the port have been dredged, making it possible for ocean vessels to berth.
Establishing a 4,500-metric-ton refrigerated warehouse is in line with the policies to turn the zone into the country’s major fisheries center, said Hamed Mobaraki, the managing director of Chabahar Free Trade and Industrial Zone Organization, emphasizing that all the development plans in the region are implemented with utmost care for the environmental issues.
The official also added that considering the port’s location, the government is planning to finance major steel plants near Chabahar. A number of foreign countries have also expressed interest in the region. India, for instance, announced earlier this year that it has earmarked $100 million for the development of Chabahar port in a bid to improve trade with Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries. Austrian investors are also planning to put their money in the construction of a giant steel mill near the port.
