India Pushes Ahead With Two New Chabahar Terminals

India is fast-tracking its plans to complete two new terminals at Iran’s Chabahar Port with the tendering process already underway, India’s transport minister said.

The agreement for Chabahar Port is finalized and a global port company [has been] formed.

We are going for the tender process and work is moving very fast,” India’s Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari also said on the sidelines of an event in Singapore on Monday.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by India and Iran last May, India is equipping and will operate two berths at Chabahar, investing $85.21 million upfront and $22.95 million annually under a 10-year lease, S&P Global Platts reported.

Located in the Shahid Beheshti part of the port, one berth will be 640 meters long for container vessels and the other will be 600 meters for multipurpose vessels.

Gadkari noted that machinery-related work has been done, construction is taking place, cranes have been deployed and we will try to make the terminals functional as soon as possible.

Chabahar Port, on Iran’s southeastern coast in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, is easily accessed by ports on India’s west coast and gives India direct access to Iran without transiting Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The route will expedite movement of fertilizers and petrochemicals from the Chabahar Free-trade Industrial Zone to India.

Last month, India Ports Global Limited invited qualifying bids for management, operations and maintenance on container and multipurpose terminals at Chabahar.

The bids have already been opened and the prequalifiers will be announced by the end of this month. Once the prequalifiers are shortlisted, final bids will be invited.

The selected bidder will be responsible for management, operation and maintenance of the project for 10 years.

India set up India Ports Global Limited in 2015 to make strategic investments in overseas ports. It is 60% owned by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and 40% by Kandla Port Trust.