(a) the present status of the Chabahar Port project;
(b) the organizations/groups/countries which have made investment in the project; and
(c) by what time the project is likely to be finalized?
(a) the present status of the Chabahar Port project;
(b) the organizations/groups/countries which have made investment in the project; and
(c) by what time the project is likely to be finalized?
THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(DR. SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR)
(a) to (c) A statement is laid on the table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO 189 REGARDING “STATUS OF CHABAHAR PROJECT” FOR ANSWER ON 10.12.2021
During the visit of the Prime Minister to Iran in May 2016, a Trilateral Agreement to establish the International Transport and Transit Corridor (Chabahar Agreement) was signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan. India is participating in the development of the first phase of the Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port in cooperation with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
2. The Indian company, India Ports Global Limited (IPGL), through its wholly owned subsidiary, India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), took over the operations of the Chabahar Port w.e.f. 24.12.2018. Since then, it has handled 160 vessels, 14,420 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and 3.2 million tons of bulk and general cargo. The Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port has handled shipments and trans-shipments from various countries including Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Ukraine, Oman, Romania, Bangladesh, Australia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan and UAE.
3. India has committed total grant assistance of USD 85 Million and a credit facility of USD 150 Million for development of Shahid Behesti Terminal, Chabahar Port. As part of our commitment towards infrastructure development of ?Shahid Beheshti Terminal, Chabahar Port, India has supplied 06 Mobile Habour Cranes (two 140 tons and four 100 tons capacity) and other equipment worth USD 25 Million.
4. The Chabahar Port has provided much needed sea-access to the landlocked Afghanistan. The port has also emerged as a commercial transit hub for the region. It is a more economical and stable route for landlocked countries of the region to reach India and the global market. Recently, it facilitated the delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. India has utilized the Chabahar port to ship 75,000 MT of wheat as humanitarian food assistance to Afghanistan in 2020. Till date, a total of one lakh ten thousand tons of wheat and two thousand tons of pulses has been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan.
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