India’s 2nd Wheat Shipment Bound for Afghanistan Docks at Iran’s Chabahar

India’s second wheat shipment destined for Afghanistan arrived at the southeastern Iranian port of Chabahar on Wednesday. Chabahar port is New Delhi’s oceanic gateway to Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond, thehindu.com reported on Friday. Quoting IRNA, the Indian newspaper wrote that the shipment comprises 435 twenty-foot containers holding 10,000 tons of wheat and was delivered by the ship Kashan from India, as the second part of India’s aid package to Afghanistan. The consignment was part of India’s pledge to deliver 75,000 tons of wheat as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, the report quoted as saying the director general of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province – home to Chabahar port.

The first batch of 5,000 tons has already been delivered via Chabahar.

The latest consignment of wheat containers will be sent across the Milak-Zaranj border crossing between Iran and Afghanistan. From there, it will travel to Herat and further via a ring road to Kandahar, Baghlan, Kabul and Balkh provinces.

Chabahar port is of high strategic importance as it is Iran’s only port in the Indian Ocean, which bypasses the narrow chokepoint of Strait of Hormuz connected to the Persian Gulf.
Chabahar is located only 70 kilometers west of Gwadar port, the starting point of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) operates Gwadar port.

Iranian officials say that cargo handling in Chabahar is expanding significantly. Tasnim News Agency, quoting an official, reported that seven cargo ships carrying basic commodities have docked at the Chabahar port since March 20.

Iranian state media further reported on Monday that the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) had ordered construction of a 50,000-ton wharf at Chabahar, which has an oil storage facility. The NIOPDC earlier announced its intent to construct a new oil terminal at Chabahar.

Once the wharf is ready, it will allow vessels to dock near the Shahid Shoushtari oil storage facility at the port.

In 2009, India constructed a road from Chabahar to Afghanistan to provide access from the Iranian port to Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province in the north – the gateway to Uzbekistan.

India also intends to build a 900-kilometer railway track from Chabahar port to Afghanistan’s resource-rich Bamyan Province. An Indian consortium has won the contract to mine the Hajigak iron ore deposits in Bamyan Province, 130 kilometers west of Kabul. - Iran Daily