Indian, Iranian firms ready to invest in Afghanistan’s shipping industry

The firms expressed their high interest in investment in shipping, something that would include purchasing vessels, hellenicshippingnews.com reported.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Transport Imam Mohammad Warimach, said that the country’s shipping line would start working initially in the strategic Chabahar port, which would be expanded to other ports.
To kick off the shipping line, however, the first step was to register the country’s shipping line with the International Maritime Organization.
But Mohammad Younus Moman, deputy CEO of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce, expressed skepticism over the available facilities in the port.
Investment in Chabahar port plays a vital role in expanding the port, which has particular promise as a means of access to the Indian Ocean for landlocked Afghanistan. Experts believe that Chabahar port would cut dependency of Afghanistan on Pakistan’s port of Gwadar and Karachi port.
In May 2016, Iran and India signed a deal to equip and operate containers and multipurpose terminals with the capital investment of $85.21 million and annual revenue expenditures of 22.95 million on a 10-year-lease.
The US State Department exempted Chabahar port from sanctions in recognition of its importance to Afghanistan’s economy.