Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah told newsmen the other day after winding up his three-day visit to Iran that Chabahar Port in southeastern Iran would open a new chapter in the regional and international transit of commodities. He termed Chabahar an important transit trade route for Afghanistan.
Around 60 Afghan entrepreneurs and investors are stationed in the Iranian port, said Abdullah during his visit to Chabahar Port.
“Afghanistan does not intend to replace Karachi Port in Pakistan by Chabahar Port,” Abdullah said. He said that Afghanistan still need the Pakistani port for transit purposes. However, he termed dependence on a single transit terminal as a weak point for Afghanistan.
Since Afghanistan is a land-locked country, Abdullah said that Chabahar Port would be the shortest and most economically efficient way for access to deep seas.
Afghanistan is expected to have sea-land access through the strategic Chabahar port in Iran as the work on the port has already begun by a joint venture of Kandla Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust of India.
Access to Afghanistan’s Garland Highway can be made from Chabahar Port using the existing Iranian road network and the Zaranj-Delaram road, constructed by Indian in 2009. This would establish a direct road access to four of the major cities of the country such as Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. The port will be also used by India to ship crude oil and fertilizers, saving Indian transportation costs.
