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. Railway line from Bamiyan province in Afghanistan India has finalized a plan to build a 900 km–long railway line from Bamiyan Province in Afghanistan to Chabahar port. An Indian steel consortium led by Steel Authority of India Limited has landed an exploration contract in the Hajigak coal fields located in the Bamiyan Province 130 km west of Kabul. This region is believed to have iron ore reserves of around 1.8 billion tonnes containing around 62% ferrous iron worth $3 trillion according to Afghan-Soviet studies of the region in the 1960s. Religion A majority of Chabahar's people are Sunni Baluch. Tourism A $500 million resort is planned to be built in Chabahar. 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 fell. In most years around will fall; however a positive Indian Ocean Dipole in 1997/1998 led to a record total of ; in contrast between July 2000 and June 2002 only fell in two years. 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. 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. See also Free Trade Zones in Iran International University of Chabahar Makran References External links http://www.iranchamber.com/people/articles/cultural_anthropology_of_baluchis.php https://web.archive.org/web/20141215001158/http://www.freezones.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=263 Cities in Sistan and Baluchestan Province Economy of Iran Gulf of