Chabahar

Coordinates: 25°17′34″N 60°38′59″E / 25.29278°N 60.64972°E / 25.29278; 60.64972
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Chahbar" redirects here. For other uses, see Chahbar (disambiguation).
For the administrative subdivision, see Chabahar County. For other places, see Chah Bahar (disambiguation).

Chahbahar
چابهار
UTC+3:30 (IRST)
Websitechabahar.ir

Chabahar (

free port (free-trade zone) situated on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, and is Iran's southernmost city after Konarak. The sister port city of Gwadar in Balochistan, Pakistan
, is located about 170 kilometres (110 mi) to the east of Chabahar.

Etymology

The name Chabahar is a shortened form of the Persian phrase chahar bahar (Persian: چهاربهار), where chahar means "four" and bahar means "spring". Hence, Chabahar means a place where all four seasons of the year resemble spring time.[citation needed]

History

There is a fishing village and former port named

Afdhal al-Din abu Hamid Kermani wrote in 584 A.H. (1188 C.E.
) about the port of Tiz and its commerce and trade.

According to the scholar and historian,

Mongols.[citation needed
] There are still some ruins in the village.

The Portuguese were the first colonial country to attack the Makran (Oman) Sea. The Portuguese forces under Afonso de Albuquerque gained control of Chabahar and Tis, staying there until 1031 A.H. (1621 C.E.). The British, and later the Portuguese in the 17th century (1616 C.E. or 1026 A.H.), entered this region.[citation needed]

Modern Chabahar dates back to around 1970 C.E., when it was declared a municipality and large port projects were started by order of

Jahad-e Sazandegi
(or jihad for construction) took them over.

The Iran–Iraq War caused Chabahar to gain in logistical and strategic importance. War brought insecurity to the Strait of Hormuz and ships were unable to enter the Persian Gulf. Accordingly, Chabahar became a major port during the war. In the 1980s the Iranian government developed a new scheme named the Eastern Axis Development Scheme, which aimed to use Chabahar's geographical position as a regional development tool to stimulate economic growth in the eastern provinces. The establishment of the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone in 1992 resulting from the EAD Scheme brought development and encouraged immigration from other parts of the country to Chabahar.[citation needed]

On February 25, 2025, clashes between the

Sunni
militant group have taken place in Chabahar. At least one civilian, a 5 year old child, has died. Two more Jaish al-Adl combatants have also died. Days earlier, Jaish al-Adl bombed an Iranian government building.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 71,070 in 13,837 households.[8] The following census in 2011 counted 85,633 people in 19,313 households.[9] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 106,739 people in 25,896 households.[2]

Economy

Chabahar Free Trade Zone

Chabahar Rally
View of a Park in Chabahar Beach

Chabahar is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean. For this reason, Chabahar is the focal point of Iranian development of the east of the country through expansion and enhancement of transit routes among countries situated in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.[10] The hope is that with the development of transit routes, and better security and transit services, the benefits will reach the local residents.[according to whom?]

Chabahar's economic sectors are fish industries and commercial sector, fishery sectors with the largest amount of country's fish catch, mainly located out of the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone. Growing commercial sector located at free trade area with high potentiality to turn to a place that would connect business growth centers in south Asia (India) and Middle East (Dubai) to central Asian market. The government plans to link the Chabahar free trade area to Iran's main rail network, which is connected to Central Asia.[citation needed]

The city is served by Refah Chain Stores Co., Iran Hyper Star, Isfahan City Center, Shahrvand Chain Stores Inc., Ofoq Kourosh chain store.

Transportation

Chabahar is connected to

Iranshahr–Kerman, Chabahar–Iranshahr–Zahedan–Mashahd and Chabahar–Iranshahr–Zahedan–Milak are four main routes connecting Chabahar to national and international roads.[citation needed
]

In July 2016, India began shipping US$150 million worth of rail tracks to Chabahar[11] to build US$1.6 billion Chabahar–Zahedan railway by India's Ircon International, for which India pledged additional US$400 million and Iran has also allocated US$125 million in December 2016, thus taking the total allocation to US$575 million (out of US$1.6 billion needed) till the end of 2016.[12]

Port

Tis beach and port, Chabahar, Iran
Tis beach and port
Main article:
Port of Chabahar
Chabahar Port at night

sanctions against Iran were being lifted after the nuclear deal, Indian investment plans had risen to US$500 million.[13]

In turn, Iran will get its first

deepwater port, to allow it to conduct global trade with big cargo ships rather than the small ships its ports can currently handle, thus putting an end to its reliance on the United Arab Emirates as a shipping intermediary.[13] On top of that, Chabahar shall be used for transshipment to Central Asia, while keeping the port of Bandar Abbas
as a major hub mainly for trade with Russia and Europe.

India and Iran have entered into an agreement to provide preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar for Indian goods destined for Central Asia.

Interest in Chabahar port's project renewed once

US-sponsored economic isolation of Iran was relieved
, and benefits from the resurgent Indian economy. Along with Bandar Abbas, Chabahar is the Iranian entrepot on the north–south corridor. A strategic partnership between India, Iran and Russia is intended to establish a multi-modal transport link connecting Mumbai with St. Petersburg, providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice versa.

India and Iran are discussing building a gas pipeline between the two countries along the bed of the Arabian Sea to bypass Pakistan, using the Chabahar port. Both the countries are pondering the delivery of natural gas produced in Turkmenistan with Indian assistance to north Iran while the Islamic Republic will send natural gas from its southern deposits to Indian consumers. This pipeline is conceived by India to replace the proposed Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline, the negotiations for which have dragged on due to the worsening of relations between India and Pakistan.[14]

Geography

Location

The city is on the

Iranian government. Due to its free-trade zone status, the city has increased in significance in international trade.[citation needed
]

Climate

The county of Chabahar has hot, humid weather in the summer and warm weather in the winter, giving it a

hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). The western winds in the winter bring about scattered rainfalls in this region, and very occasionally winds from the Indian monsoon affect the region, as in July 1976 when 46.6 millimetres (1.8 in) fell.[15] In most years around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) will fall; however a positive Indian Ocean Dipole in 1997/1998 led to a record total of 470 millimetres (18.5 in); in contrast between July 2000 and June 2002 only 57.5 millimetres (2.3 in) fell in two years.[15] The summer monsoon winds from the Indian subcontinent make Chabahar the coolest southern port in the summer and the warmest port of Iran in the winter.[citation needed] It has an average maximum temperature of 34 °C and an average minimum temperature of 21.5 °C. It has the same latitude as Miami in Florida, United States, and temperatures are very similar to those in Miami.[citation needed
]

Climate data for Chabahar (1991–2020, extremes 1963–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 33.2
(91.8) 		33.0
(91.4) 		38.0
(100.4) 		42.0
(107.6) 		46.0
(114.8) 		45.2
(113.4) 		47.0
(116.6) 		42.4
(108.3) 		42.0
(107.6) 		41.4
(106.5) 		37.0
(98.6) 		32.0
(89.6) 		47.0
(116.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 24.3
(75.7) 		25.1
(77.2) 		27.1
(80.8) 		30.3
(86.5) 		33.0
(91.4) 		33.7
(92.7) 		32.5
(90.5) 		31.3
(88.3) 		31.3
(88.3) 		31.4
(88.5) 		29.2
(84.6) 		26.2
(79.2) 		29.6
(85.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 20.7
(69.3) 		21.8
(71.2) 		23.9
(75.0) 		27.1
(80.8) 		30.1
(86.2) 		31.2
(88.2) 		30.3
(86.5) 		29.1
(84.4) 		28.7
(83.7) 		27.9
(82.2) 		25.2
(77.4) 		22.3
(72.1) 		26.5
(79.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 16.6
(61.9) 		17.9
(64.2) 		20.5
(68.9) 		24.0
(75.2) 		27.2
(81.0) 		29.0
(84.2) 		28.7
(83.7) 		27.6
(81.7) 		26.6
(79.9) 		24.4
(75.9) 		20.9
(69.6) 		17.9
(64.2) 		23.4
(74.2)
Record low °C (°F) 7.0
(44.6) 		7.0
(44.6) 		9.6
(49.3) 		14.0
(57.2) 		16.0
(60.8) 		22.0
(71.6) 		21.0
(69.8) 		19.0
(66.2) 		19.0
(66.2) 		13.2
(55.8) 		9.0
(48.2) 		7.0
(44.6) 		7.0
(44.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 35.1
(1.38) 		7.3
(0.29) 		18.1
(0.71) 		2.1
(0.08) 		0.0
(0.0) 		9.0
(0.35) 		3.9
(0.15) 		1.0
(0.04) 		0.1
(0.00) 		5.7
(0.22) 		9.6
(0.38) 		23.7
(0.93) 		115.6
(4.53)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 2.4 1.0 1.6 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.6 1.4 8.2
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		62 68 74 76 78 81 81 82 81 77 66 61 73.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours 248 233 245 271 300 250 188 209 243 277 266 258 2,988
Source:
NOAA NCEI,[16] (extrems before 1991[17]
)

Tourism

Along the shore sea

A $500 million resort is planned to be built in Chabahar.[18]

  • Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Ferdows Hotel, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Ferdows Hotel, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • The statue of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    The statue of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Beris port, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Beris port, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Elevated cliff beaches in suburbs of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Elevated cliff beaches in suburbs of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • The Lipar Pink Wetland, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    The Lipar Pink Wetland, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Pozm Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Pozm Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Planktons, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Planktons, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Planktons, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Planktons, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Comb beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Comb beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Comb beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Comb beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Sany beaches of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Sany beaches of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Elevated cliff beaches of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Elevated cliff beaches of Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Marine Chiton, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Marine Chiton, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Jelly fishes, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Jelly fishes, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Marine chitons, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Marine chitons, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Darya Koochak, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Darya Koochak, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
  • Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran
    Rocky Beach, Chabahar Free Zone, Iran

See also

flag Iran portal

Notes

  1. romanized as Čahbàr; formerly Bandar Beheshtī[4] and Chah Bahar (چاه بهار)[5]
  2. ^ Formerly Chah Bahar County[5]

References

  1. ^ OpenStreetMap contributors (8 January 2025). "Chabahar, Chabahar County" (Map). OpenStreetMap (in Persian). Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Sistan and Baluchestan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Inside Chabahar, the Iranian port city that borders Pakistan and where alleged spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was based". The Economic Times. 14 May 2017.
  4. ^ Chabahar can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3055106" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  5. ^ a b c Habibi, Hassan (5 March 2013) [Approved 21 June 1369]. Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of Sistan and Baluchestan province, centered in the city of Zahedan. rc.majlis.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Board. Proposal 3233.1.5.53; Letter 907-93808; Notification 82822/T129. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2023 – via Research Center of the System of Laws of the Islamic Council of the Farabi Library of Mobile Users.
  6. ^ Sachau, Edward C., ed. (1910) [1888]. Alberuni's India. Vol. 1. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. p. 208.
  7. ISBN 0-391-04173-8
    .
  8. ^ Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Sistan and Baluchestan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  9. ^ Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Sistan and Baluchestan Province. irandataportal.syr.edu (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University.
  10. ^ Miglani, Sanjeev (25 March 2011). "India, China's rivalry and a tale of two ports". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  11. ^ "India to export USD 150 mn rails for Chabahar port next month". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  12. ^ "$125m for Chabahar-Zahedan Railroad". Financial Tribune. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  13. ^ a b "India's $500 Million Bet on Iran". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Iran, India discuss building underwater gas pipeline". Tehran Times. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  15. ^ a b "اداره کل هواشناسی استان چهارمحال و بختیاری". chaharmahalmet.ir (in Arabic).
  16. NOAA
    . Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Chahbahar Climate Normals 1963–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  18. ^ "$500m Tourist Resort Planned in Chabahar". Financial Tribune. 11 June 2017.
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