Indicating firm commitment, India on Wednesday declared that it will intensify work at the Iranian port of Chahbahar where it is developing facilities as part of regional connectivity plans.
Addressing a press conference in the capital, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said that his priority is to complete the work in Chahbahar on time which will allow India to overcome the lack of land access to Central Asia and Russia.
“Chahbahar is a good opportunity for the Indian market. Top five companies of India have good presence in Iran and they are having a dialogue with their Iranian counterparts. Iranian investors are also going to benefit immensely. Our governments and investors have already started discussion to take advantage of the project. My priority is to complete the work at Chahbahar at the earliest,” said Mr Gadkari.
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Mr Gadkari’s comments on India-Iran ties came a day after US President Donald Trump said that the Iran nuclear deal which opened the Iranian economy for investment is “embarrassing”, which cast a shadow on Iran’s emerging global stature and its international partnerships.
Mr Gadkari however played down any threat to Indian project in Chahbahar and said, “There is no difficulty. We have finalised the order and I feel that there is no problem before the project.”
Mr Gadkari said that India has historical ties with Iran and Afghanistan and after Chahbahar, the region will emerge as a growth engine for all the three countries – Afghanistan, India and Iran. “Not just Central Asia, even Russia can be accessed by truck through Chahbahar, and Europe too can be accessed through Russia,” he said.
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The minister also indicated that the port for which India and Iran signed an MoU in Tehran on 6 May 2015 will help India find a secure all-weather connection between India and the Eurasian continent. The contract includes development and mechanisation of two berths that will be rail mounted and state of the art. The government of India has provided US$ 85.21 million to equip and operate the container and multipurpose terminals and US$ 121.5 million for operations and maintenance for a period of 10 years.
Mr Gadkari however declined to be drawn into the diplomatic issues, maintaining that the project is isolated from diplomatic developments and is on track for earliest completion.