“The inclusion of the port in the Free Zone is expected to boost the cargo through the port,” Arun Kumar Gupta, Managing Director of India Ports Global Ltd (IGPL), told BusinessLine.
India Ports Global is a fully owned by Sagarmala Development Company Ltd, a company controlled by the Shipping Ministry.
The trade is also upbeat with the announcement that Ghazanfar Bank of Afghanistan will soon open a branch in Chabahar, Gupta said. “It is understood that the bank has received requisite permit from Central Bank of Iran,” he added.
India Ports Global started operations from two berths at Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar on December 25, 2018 and has since handled container, bulk cargo, livestock and heavy lift cargo vessels.
“Transit of export consignment from Afghanistan through Chabahar commenced in February 2019 as a trickle but has now started showing a healthy upward trend. On June 30, the IPGL terminal loaded 76 twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs (all refrigerated) for India. This is a record single loading and is a milestone in growth path of Shahid Behesti Port of Chabahar, Gupta stated.
On June 28, the port also handled the fourth consignment (300 TEUs) of wheat cargo from India to Afghanistan. This is part of the 75,000 tonnes of wheat that India is supplying to Afghanistan as humanitarian aid.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/india-funded-chabahar-port-in-iran-to-be-integrated-with-free-zone/article31968033.ece