The cost of container shipping to Chabahar Port has drastically reduced

Direct container shipping lines have been established from Chabahar Port in Iran to ports in India and China, in collaboration with IRISL. The prices of container shipping in these routes have significantly decreased.

Chabahar Port is Iran’s sole oceanic port located on the Gulf of Oman. The port carries immense political and economic importance for the country. To enhance the country’s maritime trade, Iran has taken significant steps to develop this port.

The port is composed of two terminals, Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each equipped with five berths. It is situated in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province, approximately 120 kilometres southwest of Baluchistan Province in Pakistan where the China-funded Gwadar port is located.

In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed an agreement to develop the strategically important Chabahar port which would provide India with direct access to Kabul and the Central Asian region. Later, based on a separate deal with Iran, India agreed to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbour cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.

According to the agreement, India has been operating in Shahid Beheshti port through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract, which marks the very first contract that has been implemented in one of Iran’s ports with 100% foreign investment.

In January 2021, the first shipment of Indian equipment worth $8.5 million arrived at Chabahar Port to aid in the development of port activities in the southeastern region.