Baku, Azerbaijan, March. 24
Trend:
Astara (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) wailway will be opened on Thursday, March 29 through video conference within the framework of the visit of Iranian President Hassan Ruhani to Azerbaijan, Member of Board of Directors of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Hossein Ashuri said, according to IRNA.
During the inspection of the Astara (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) railroad project, Ashuri noted that an agreement for the construction of the railway of Resht-Astara worth $500 million is expected to be signed during the visit.
The railway segment is a part of the International North-South Transport Corridor which is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia. At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year through the corridor and over 10 million tons of cargo in future.
In order to complete the mega project of the North-South Corridor, three railroad segments connecting the northwestern city of Qazvin to the border city of Astara should be constructed inside Iran.
The first segment is Qazvin-Rasht according to Iranian officials, will be completed in the coming months.
The second segment connecting the cities of Rasht and Astara is expected to be constructed within three years with Azerbaijan’s financial aid.
The Astara-Astara segment which connects the two border cities of the same name in Iran and Azerbaijan is almost ready to come on stream.