German firm investing €400 mln in petchem project in Iran’s Chabahar: Official

Iranian authorities say a notable German company is bringing in some 400 million euros worth of investment into a major petrochemical project in the southeastern port of Chabahar.

The Fars news agency cited a senior Iranian official as saying on Monday that the German firm would invest in machinery and equipment needed for a methanol production project in Chabahar.

Ahmad Jamali, a deputy head of Iran’s high council on free trade zones, did not disclose the name of the German company but said that it had previously worked in Iran.

“Required permits have been obtained from the foreign investment board, Oil Ministry and free zones (council) and the execution phase is due to begin because the investor has been allocated with a land,” said Jamali.

Chabahar, a main Iranian ocean port on the Sea of Oman, has seen a boom in foreign investment over the past years mainly because India is seeking to contribute to building out the port to facilitate its trade access to Afghanistan and countries in the Central Asia region.

Unconfirmed reports in the media have suggested that the United States has issued certain waivers from its sanctions on Iran to allow countries like India to go on with their investment plans in Chabahar.

It seems companies from Germany and other countries are using the same set of exemptions to become active in Chabahar.

Jamali said the council on free trade zones had issued initial permits needed for a British bank to set up a branch in Chabahar, saying Iran’s central bank should give its approval on the issue.

Iran has carried out some massive investments in Chabahar to make it a unique gateway for trade in the region. The country is spending around $300 million on a railway project to connect the port to Zahedan near the border with Afghanistan.

MG