<div>India will set up a company to develop Iran's Chabahar Port, a government statement said on Saturday, as New Delhi seeks a better trade route into Afghanistan.</div><div> </div><div>The port of Chabahar in southeast Iran is central to India's efforts to circumvent Pakistan and open up a route to landlocked Afghanistan where it has developed close security ties and economic interests.</div><div> </div><div>India plans to sign an agreement with Iran for the development of the port and New Delhi intends to lease two berths at Chabahar for 10 years in the first phase, the statement said.</div><div> </div><div>The planned Indian company will invest $85.21 million in one year to convert the berths into a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminal, the statement said, adding India would consider the participation of Iranian firms if needed.</div><div> </div><div>India and Iran could enter into subsequent negotiations for participation in the construction, equipping and operating of terminals in Phase-II on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.</div><div> </div><div>The Chabahar port would give India a sea-land access route into Afghanistan through Iran’s eastern borders.</div><div> </div><div>Chabahar is located in the Sistan-Baluchistan province on Iran's south-eastern coast is a port of great strategic value. It lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast, the government statement noted.</div><div> </div><div>Zaranj in Afghanistan, which is 883 km from the port, can be accessed from Chabahar port using the existing Iranian road network. Then using the Zaranj-Delaram road constructed by India in 2009, one can access Afghanistan's garland highway and establish road access to Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif , Afghanistan’s four major cities, the statement said.</div>
