Officials from India, Iran, and Russia are going to meet next
month to negotiate a large joint project aimed at launching a new cargo
transport corridor that could become a cheaper and shorter alternative to the
Suez Canal.
The new shipment passage, North-South Transport Corridor
(INSTC), is set to connect the Indian Ocean with the Persian Gulf through Iran
to Russia and Europe, according to Iranian state-owned news outlet Press TV.
The 7,200-kilometers long corridor will combine sea and rail routes.
“The INSTC is the shortest multimodal transportation route linking
the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf via Iran to Russia and North Europe,”India’s
Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement, adding that trilateral
talks between the parties are scheduled on November 23.
The
route will make it possible to deliver cargoes from India to the Iranian port
of Bandar Abbas. Then, the goods will be transported by land to Bandar Anzali,
Iran’s port on the Caspian Sea. After that, goods will be shipped to the
Russian southern port of Astrakhan, from where they will move to Europe by
rail.
The new transport artery will potentially reduce the time and
costs of shipping by up to 40 percent. Transport time between Mumbai and Moscow
will reportedly be reduced to 20 days. Annual capacity of the transport artery
is expected to reach 30 million tons.
“All issues may be resolved in order to operationalize the (INSTC)
route as early as possible,” according to Indian
Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, as quoted by the media.
Currently, Indian logistics companies have to route shipments
through China, Europe or Iran to get an access to Central Asian markets. The
former two ways are reportedly long, time-consuming and inevitably expensive
with the Iranian route seen as the most viable.
Russia to build world’s northernmost railway in
Arctic https://t.co/wC7jxZ1jB5pic.twitter.com/nFMpZP4qIO
— RT
(@RT_com) October 30, 2018
India is also seeking to fight a trade route to the markets of
landlocked Afghanistan, avoiding neighboring Pakistan amid ongoing territorial
tensions over the Kashmir. So far, India has committed $500 million for
developing Iranian port of Chabahar that is strategically crucial for achieving
the goal. For Afghanistan, the corridor through the Iranian sea outlet means
billions of dollars in trade and cutting the country’s foreign dependence for
transportation aid.
The ambitious INSTC project comes on the back of a broader
initiative ‘One Belt One Road’ pushed by China. The multi-trillion-dollar
project may potentially include the India-Iran-Russia route into the chain of
global shipments in an enormous boon to future business and trade.
Reprinted from RT News.