India, Iran Ink Short-Term Lease for Part of Chabahar Port

India has signed a short-term lease contract with Iran for a part of Chabahar Port.

Under the contract between Port and Maritime Organization (PMO), Iran and India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), India would operate Shahid Beheshti Port, Phase 1 of Chabahar Port, for a term of one and a half year.

Signed during Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s recent visit to the country, the short-term lease would see India utilize Iranian equipment to conduct operations at the part of the port.

As part of the deal, the country would launch operations at the 360-meter-long Shahid Beheshti Port by the end of May 2018, Hindustan Times cited sources close to the matter.

“The successful inauguration of the Phase-1 of Chabahar Port in early December 2017; the ratification of the Trilateral Agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor by all sides; and the successful shipment of wheat assistance from India to Afghanistan through Chabahar Port have opened a new gateway to and from Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond,” Government of India writes.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreed between the countries in May 2016, India is to develop the Chabahar Port, which is located outside the Persian Gulf.

Under the MoU, India would equip and operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with a capital investment of USD 85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of USD 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.

World Maritime News Staff