TEHRAN- Given its strategic location as well as infrastructure and capacities, Chabahar Port (in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province) will become the country’s third trade hub soon, the acting minister of industry, mining, and trade stated.

Making the remarks in a meeting of Sistan-Baluchestan Province’s Economic Taskforce on Friday, Hossein Modares Khiabani said that Chabahar enjoys high potential for the exports and transit of commodities, which can make it Iran’s third trade hub after Bandar-Abbas Port (in southern Hormozgan Province) and Imam Khomeini Port (in southwestern Bushehr Province), IRNA reported.

The official further put emphasis on the necessity of facilitating all trade processes in Chabahar to expedite its development.

Lying on the coast of the Gulf of Oman in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province, Chabahar is the country’s only oceanic port and given its strategic location in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) development of the port is of high significance for Iran.

During a ceremony on starting the track-laying operations of Chabahar-Zahedan railroad on July 7, Deputy Transport Minister Kheirollah Khademi underlined the significance of the railroad and noted that due to its strategic position, Chabahar port is going to be a gateway for the country’s trade.

The project which is aimed to connect Chabahar to Zahedan (the capital city of Sistan-Baluchestan Province) is planned to be completed by the end of the Iranian calendar year of 1400 (March 2022).

The total length of this railroad is 628 kilometers (km), 150 km of which will be laid by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2021), Khademi announced.

Establishing an all-rail corridor in the east of the country, connecting Chabahar as the country’s only oceanic port to the national railway network, developing Makran coasts through rail transportation, connecting Central Asia and Afghanistan to open ocean waters, and establishing permanent cooperation with countries in the region and other countries with trade and transit exchanges are reported to be some of the goals of Chabahar-Zahedan railway project.

According to Khademi, transporting 927,000 passengers and 2.8 million tons of cargoes by the Iranian calendar year 1401 (begins in March 2022) is set to be the short-term economic goal of this project.

Also as mentioned by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI), Iran can use its eastern railway corridor for transiting commodities between Russia and India and also among CIS countries.

Mentioning the beginning of the track-laying operations for Chabahar-Zahedan railway, Saeed Rasouli told IRNA on Friday: “So far we haven’t been able to use the full capacities of Chabahar port since it wasn’t connected to the railway network, but with the completion of this line the port can become a transit hub in the region.”

“This route is one of the important parts of the country's railway network, which in addition to its regional and national role, is very important as a part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) leading to Chabahar port,” Rasouli said.

MA/MA