Iran's Chabahar Port to be boon for India: Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that the Chabahar Port in Iran will be a boon for India.

He said earlier things were more difficult for India as it had to follow the route through Pakistan, but once the port is operations then business will become easy from Kandla port in Gujarat.

"The Chabahar and Kandla port are not very far from each other and earlier we followed the route through Pakistan but now we have an easy route," said Gadkari.

He further said that Chabahar port will start operating within 12 to 18 months, which will open the doors for business in Iran and Afghanistan.

Gadkari will be visiting Iran as India's representative for President Hassan Rouhani's oath ceremony function in Tehran this week, where he will be meeting the President Hassan and his Ministers.

Reformist Rouhani was re-elected in May after defeating his hardliner rival judge Ebrahim Raisi.

Earlier, Gadkari had visited Tehran in May 2015 and both the nations had inked a pact to develop the Chabahar Port. 

-ANI