Following the Chabahar port development agreement with Iran, India will get access to Eastern transit Corridor to:

-          Eastern  part of Iran

-          Afghanistan, which is a landlocked country

-          CIS countries like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan etc

-          Alternative to North South Corridor (Access to Russia and North Baltic countries)

Ports on the Western Coast of India like Kandla (550 NM) and Mumbai / JNPT (786 NM) will get the maximum benefit from this agreement.

The following amounts are likely to be provided by India for development of the Port:

-         Making credit of USD 150 million available for development of phase 1 of the port,within 4 months of receiving their application through Central Bank of Iran.

-         Equipping the both terminals with equipment worth USD 85 million within 18 months above funding.

 Overall it is expected that it will take 18 to 24 months for Commercial Operations to commence at Chabahar Port.

This information was given by Minister of State for Shipping, Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today. 

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UM/NP