Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) has announced a massive private sector investment scheme to expand Chabhar Port, the country’s largest ocean gateway.
According to a statement, 29 companies have applied to invest in the Shalid Beheshti Port of Chabahar in the first half of the current financial year. The PMO says this is a sign of Chabahar’s national and transnational importance and that Iran is open to investment.
Chabahar Port is not only Iran’s largest seaport but is also a gateway for its landlocked neighbors, including Afghanistan and other countries in central Asia.
Its status as a national and regional hub is emphasised even more by its close proximity to major ports on the Sea of Oman.
Behrouz Aghaei, Director General of Sistan and Baluchestan Ports and Maritime Organization was quoted as saying that Chabahar Port “has a special place in Iran’s exchanges of goods with other countries in the region.”
He also stressed that Chabahar’s aforementioned location made it an attractive recipient for investment.
In February 2019, PTI reported how the port was central to an India-Afghanistan trade corridor that will open up central Asia to the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean and other global markets.
