Baku, Azerbaijan, March 30
By Ilkin Shafiyev – Trend:
Participation of Azerbaijani companies in the project for the construction of the Astara-Rasht railway section in Iran will stand at about 50 percent, Azerbaijani Deputy Economy Minister Sahil Babayev told Trend March 30.
This section is an integral part of the North-South transport corridor.
Azerbaijan and Iran have recently signed an agreement on financing the construction of the Astara-Rasht railway section in Iran.
“Under this loan agreement, Azerbaijani companies will carry out 49 percent of all work,” Babayev noted.
It is very important to establish a railway infrastructure along the project’s route in order to fully operate the North-South transport corridor, according to him.
“As a result of the project’s first stage, the Astara-Astara railway, the bridge over the Astara River and the terminal for cargo transshipment have already been commissioned in Iran. The work done allows us to send a cargo via railway from the northern countries to Iran’s Astara, from where they will be delivered to Rasht and Iranian ports by other types of transport. However, it is necessary to ensure the transportation of goods via railway in order to fully realize the potential of the project,” the deputy minister said.
“Thus, for the first time in history, transportation of goods from the Persian Gulf to Northern Europe will be ensured by a single transport. That is why the Astara-Rasht section, which will be built by a loan allocated by Azerbaijan, is so important,” he added.
The North-South corridor can be connected with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in the future, Babayev said.
“This is a very promising project that will unite the Persian Gulf with Eastern Europe. The trade turnover between these countries is measured in billions of dollars. Our task is to provide the necessary conditions, infrastructure, simplification of procedures for carriers. This project will allow Azerbaijan to provide transit of three to four million tons of cargo per year through its territory only at the first stage,” the deputy minister emphasized.
The North-South transport corridor will connect Northern Europe with South-East Asia, as well as by uniting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.
The cargo will be transported through India and further through the Persian Gulf, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia in the direction of the Scandinavian countries and Northern Europe within 14 days.