India looks to open Chabahar Port by 2019

India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Gadkari was on a two-day visit to Tajikistan to represent India at a global conference on "International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development".

"...India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019... opening up of the Chabahar Port would make the CIS countries more accessible," the shipping minister said on Friday.

The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan that could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut its dependence on Pakistan.