The Indian government has taken over operation of the Chabahar port in a part of Shahid Beheshti port in Iran’s southern coast, India confirmed on Monday. This operation is the first time India will be operating a port outside of its territory.
According to Livermint reports, in an official statement, the shipping minister said: “The Government of India took over the operations of a part of Shahid Beheshti Port, Chabahar, in Iran during the Chabahar Trilateral Agreement meeting held there on December 24, 2018.”
The heads of Afghanistan, Indian and Iranian delegations has jointly initiated the office of the Indian SPV, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) at Iran’s Chabahar.
The statement further stated: “The physical take-over of the terminal area, cargo handling equipment, and Office building was completed by December 29, 2018.”
It said the commercial operations have begun at IPGCFZ with the vessel’s arrival, adding, a bulk carrier, Cyprus registered, had arrived at Chabahar port with 72,458 MT of the corn cargo.
The statement said: “This step marks the beginning of a long journey. India has written history with its engagement in Chabahar and is now leading the regional cooperation and joint efforts to support landlocked Afghanistan. This is the first time India will be operating a port outside its territories.”
India has initiated interacting with Iran over Chabahar port in 2003 and the two countries signed a MoU in May 2015 for the development of the Chabahar port.
During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tehran on May 23, 2016, this MoU was executed and converted it into a 10-year contract for equipping and operating the Chabahar port.
The statement stated: “Since there was challenges inactivation of the said contract, the foundation of an interim period contract was laid during the visit of Hassan Rouhani, President of Islamic Republic of Iran to New Delhi in February 2018. Resultantly, a formal short-term contract between the two sides was signed on May 6, 2018.”
In December 2017, the phase of Chabahar port was initiated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with the opening route connecting India, Afghanistan, and Iran bypassing Pakistan.
Under the agreement, India signed two operations. One was Chabahar port phase-I worth $85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure worth $22.95 million over a 10-year time period.