Via the Tehran Times, an article on growing investment interest in the Chabahar port free zone:

In this century, transit and routes for transporting goods and passengers are extremely important. One of the ways that countries can increase their economic and political power and consequently their national power at a lower cost is the optimal use of the strategic position.

The location of a country next to the open sea, oceans, important straits, etc. can provide that country with capacities that, if properly planned and used, while creating economic prosperity, can compensate for many of the country’s deficiencies in other areas.

Iran’s strategic position has made it able to play a role as an important transit route in the transit of goods in the east-west and north-south routes.

This issue causes countries without access to open waters, including Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, to depend on Iran more than before.

The transit of goods from Iran through rail and road transport and then sea transport through the port of Chabahar plays an important role in attracting investment, developing industry, and creating employment, especially in the eastern regions of the country.

Lying on the coast of the Gulf of Oman in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province, Chabahar is the country’s only oceanic port and given its strategic location in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) development of the port is of high significance for Iran, so the government has some major projects to create multi-dimensional transportation facilities in this port.

As announced by the managing director of Chabahar Free Zone Organization, $8 billion of investment was made in different sectors in this zone during the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20).

Amir Moqadam said that the result of the actions taken in the field of investment attraction last year was that the total investments made reached from $4.9 billion at the end of 1400 to $8 billion at the end of 1401, and for 1402 it is targeted to reach $14 billion.

Chabahar port has two significant docks, namely Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Kalantari, which are mostly referred to as ports, i.e. Shahid Beheshti Port and Shahid Kalantari Port.

Development of Shahid Beheshti Port, construction of Chabahar International Airport, and building Chabahar-Zahedan (center of Sistan-Baluchestan Province) railway are three of the major projects to make Chabahar a complete logistics platform.

In addition, Chabahar Free Zone has been suggested as a transit and logistic gateway for Iran’s domestic market which, while reducing the cost and time of transportation it has also provided profitable economic opportunities in the development of logistics facilities.

Chabahar Free Zone is a multi-purpose zone with educational, industrial, tourism and transportation sectors.

Considering all the above-mentioned points, making investment in this zone is a necessity.

It is worth mentioning that one of the major potentials of Chabahar free zone, which makes investment in this area very profitable, is the existence of cheap workforce in all fields, especially in the field of industries.

This has caused this area to have a high potential for establishing factories and industrial units.