Parts of Iran-India deal on Chabahr port made confidential: Official
Head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization says parts of a new agreement with India to develop the southeastern port of Chabahar have been made confidential in a bid to avoid problems that could be caused by US sanctions.
“The contract with the Indian operator is not confidential but we have made some of its aspects confidential,” Ali Akbar Safaei told the semi-official ILNA news agency on Saturday.
Safaei made the comments days after a press conference where he refused to publicize details about the future activities of the Indian operator in Chabahar.
He said in the event that the possibility exists that India may come under pressure by the US if details of the contract on Chabahar are disclosed to the media.
Iran and India signed a deal in May under which the India Ports Global (IPGL) company is allowed to develop and control Chabahar for 10 years.
Chabahar is located on Iran's coast along the Sea of Oman and is the country’s only ocean port.
It is regarded as a major trade link between the Indian Ocean and Afghanistan and landlocked countries in the Central Asia region.
India seeks to develop Chabahar as a rival to the Chinese-funded Pakistani Gwadar and Karachi ports.
The IPGL has already invested $85 million on gantry cranes in Chabahar under a previous agreement whereby it was supposed to provide some $250 million in investment.
That comes as the new agreement has raised the value of investment by the Indian side to $370 million.
Iran has its own plants to develop other terminals in Chabahr while it has invested hundreds of millions on building a railway between the port and the provincial capital of Zahedan near the border with Afghanistan.
India obtained a US sanctions waiver in 2018 to be able to work in Chabahar.
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