Context: In its latest push to develop Iran’s Chabahar port project, India handed over two 140-tonne cranes for loading and unloading equipment to the Iranian government on Sunday.

Details:

• The cranes, part of a full consignment of six Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHC) worth about $25million were sourced from Italy and formally released at a ceremony at Chabahar’s Shahid Beheshti port after official talks between India and Iran.
• India’s plans to invest further in the port project are seen as an indicator that the government expects some easing up in U.S. sanctions in the upcoming months, once the new Biden administration begins to address its policy on re-entering the Iran nuclear deal.
• The cranes delivery comes after several delays due to the impact of U.S. sanctions on various parts of the Chabahar project, which have slowed down both the procurement of equipment, as well as banking and insurance arrangements for developing infrastructure.

Chabahar Port:

• Chabahar Port is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman.
• It serves as Iran's only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each of which has five berths.
• Development of the port was first proposed in 1973 by the last Shah of Iran, though development was delayed by the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
• India and Iran first agreed to plans to further develop Shahid Beheshti port in 2003, but did not do so on account of sanctions against Iran.
• As of 2016, the port has ten berths. In May 2016, India and Iran signed a bilateral agreement in which India would refurbish one of the berths at Shahid Beheshti port, and reconstruct a 600 meter long container handling facility at the port.
• The port is partly intended to provide an alternative for trade between India and Afghanistan as it is 800 kilometers closer to the border of Afghanistan than Pakistan's Karachi port.
• Following the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran, foreign companies became reluctant to participate in the port's expansion, and only 10% of the port's 8.5 million-ton total capacity was utilized in 2019.
• Sanctions also played a role in reducing India's involvement and investment in the US$1.6 billion Chabahar–Zahedan railway.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-delivers-2-cranes-for-chabahar-port/article33711280.ece

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