Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 7
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
The North-South transportation corridor project has good prospects to be realized, a Russian expert told Trend Apr. 7.
"The North-South project has been developed for quite a long time and its implementation could significantly reduce the time of delivery of goods," said Leonid Gusev, a senior research fellow at the Analytical Center of the International Studies Institute at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
The North-South international transportation corridor is meant to connect the northern Europe with the south-eastern Asia. It will serve as a link between the railways of Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.
Gusev noted that the sanctions on Iran were previously creating difficulties for the project's implementation.
Currently, the project has good prospects for development, the expert believes.
"This project requires significant amount of investments," he added. "It is necessary to thoroughly study the issue and if it is solved, the project will be possible to be realized soon."
The North-South railway's capacity will be 1.4 million passengers and 5 to 7 million tons of cargo a year, according to preliminary estimates.
Twenty-two tunnels and 15 bridges will be built along the railway's route.
At an initial stage, it is planned to transport 6 million tons of cargo via the North-South corridor a year, and 15 to 20 million tons of cargo in the future.
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