Copy in clipboard...
Parts of Iran-India deal on Chabahr Port made confidential: Official
“The contract with the Indian operator is not confidential but we have made some of its aspects confidential,” Ali Akbar Safaei told ILNA 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, Press TV reported.
He said 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 $85m on gantry cranes in Chabahar under a previous agreement whereby it was supposed to provide some $250m in investment.
That comes as the new agreement has raised the value of investment by the Indian side to $370m.
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.