TEHRAN (Iran News) – An Iranian official in charge of development and administrative affairs at Iran’s port of Chabahar (southeast of the country) has said the gateway will soon outshine the Suez Canal in providing a quicker trade link between Europe and Asia.
Director General of Chabahar Free Trade Zone Organization (FTZ) Abdul Rahim Kordi said on Sunday the Chabahar route goes through the Baltic Sea to Russia’s Saint Petersburg and then through the Volga River to Astrakhan from where it travels via the Caspian Sea to Anzali in northern Iran.
It then travels further south across the lengths of the Iranian territory to Chabahar on the Sea of Oman and then through the Arabian Sea to the Nhava Sheva port in India’s Mumbai.
Speaking in a local meeting, Kordi added Chabahar will become busier once a 580-kilometer railway connecting it to Zahedan, near the eastern Iranian border, comes on line.
It will be more than a half shorter than the traditional Suez canal taken by large ships to deliver cargoes from Europe to Asia, he said, adding the Chabahar route will decrease the time needed from 38 days to 14-16 days.
Noting that the Iranian government has been awash with requests for foreign investment in Chabahar, Kordi added, India has been a major stakeholder in development projects in Chabahar as the country seeks to facilitate its trade access to Afghanistan and other landlocked countries in the Central Asia region.
“Being present in Chabahar has become so popular that we currently lack the capacity to process some of the excess investments in this region,” Kordi added.
Referring to Chabahar as the sole Iranian ocean port, the official stressed its significance on the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman shores and in North-South Corridor.
He described Iran as a terminal in the world, noting that the port of Chabahar can be the connecting point of the North-South and East-West corridors.
IRNA and Press TV contributed to this story.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
