Channel "Caspian - Persian Gulf": when Russia gets access to the Indian Ocean

Do you think it is possible to build a shipping channel from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf? Despite the impressive distance, the enormous amount of work and a significant amount of investment, this project, designed to open the shortest way to the Indian Ocean to Russia and many other countries, has been actively discussed recently by many states interested in it.

The very idea of building such a shipping canal, which would connect the Caspian Sea with the Indian Ocean, has already celebrated its centenary. But the strategic importance of the Trans-Iranian Canal project is much broader than the access of the Caspian countries to the Indian Ocean. Today in Russia there is a whole network of shipping channels and river routes that connects the Caspian Sea with the Baltic (Volga-Baltic waterway), the Caspian Sea with the White Sea (via the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the Volga-Baltic waterway), as well as the Caspian with the Black Sea basin (Volga-Don canal). This colossal transport network along with the Trans-Iranian Canal is capable of providing the shortest route to the Indian Ocean not only for Russia, but also for Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, as well as the European countries of the Baltic region. According to experts, the Caspian - Persian Gulf canal will allow you to cross the route from Russian ports in the Baltic to the Indian port of Mumbai in just 3 weeks instead of the 7 weeks that go on the route through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal today.

The trans-Caspian-Persian Gulf Canal currently has two main construction options: with access to the Persian Gulf and with access to the Gulf of Oman. The western version of the canal assumes access to the Persian Gulf, and its length will be about 650 kilometers. In this case, it will be necessary to create a number of reservoirs, flood a large number of fertile lands and relocate a significant number of people. The second version of the project - the eastern one - is not so difficult in terms of possible flooding, but it has a length of almost 1000 kilometers. The eastern route with access to the Gulf of Oman will pass through extremely arid areas, which also complicates the construction.

The estimated cost of the channel is estimated at 10 billion US dollars. Despite such an impressive amount, experts believe that after 5-7 years of operation, the channel will fully pay for itself, because the benefit from it will be much greater.

Nevertheless, taking into account all the temporary and financial benefits of the project, the construction of the canal has not yet begun. The reason for this is the unstable situation in the Middle East, as well as the situation around Iran itself. To start construction, a considerable amount of investment will be required, and their availability directly depends on the political and financial stability in the world.