Baku, Azerbaijan, May 20
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
It is expected that the construction of the Ardabil-Mianeh railway in the Ardabil and East Azerbaijan provinces of Iran will be completed by mid-March 2020, Masoud Emami Yeganeh, an official responsible for beautification works at the administration of Ardabil Province, told IRNA, Trend reports.
According to Yeganeh, a 50-percent progress has so far been made in the construction of the railway.
He added that 10 contractors, 670 units of equipment and 1,530 people are employed in the construction of the Ardabil-Mianeh railway.
Noting that 7.5 trillion rials (app. $178 million) were provided at the expense of local finances last Iranian year (started March 21, 2018), he added that 2.5 trillion rials (about $59.5 million) will be deducted from local finances, and 1.5 trillion rials (app. $35.7 million) will be deducted from this year's budget during the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2019).
"Integration of the Ardabil-Moghan railway into the Azerbaijani railway has been coordinated by the two countries' officials and is one of the projects to be implemented in the coming years," he said.
The foundation of the 175-km long Ardabil-Mianeh railway project was laid in 2004, and a 5-year period has been set for the completion of the project. However, due to a lack of funds, the project has remained incomplete to this day.