BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 21
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
The construction of the Rasht-Astara railway in the Gilan Province (northern Iran) is part of a long-term program, Deputy Minister of Iran's Road and Urban Development, and the CEO of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company Kheirollah Khademi told ILNA, Trend reports.
The deputy minister said that the construction of this railway will not be completed by the end of next Iranian year (to start March 21, 2021).
Khademi added that an initial contract for the construction of this railway is about to be signed. The contract will be worth 60 trillion rials (about $1.42 billion).
The CEO emphasized that it is planned to put into operation 1,667 kilometers of railways by the end of next Iranian year.
"Ardabil, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kurdistan provinces will be connected to the Iranian railway network. In addition Tabriz city, the center of East Azerbaijan Province, will be connected to the Iranian railway network from a new direction. The Chabahar-Zahedan railway, Yazd-Eqlid railway, Rasht-Caspian port railway are planned for commissioning,” he said.
According to the deputy minister, it is planned to build 471 km of railways by the end of this year (began March 20, 2020).
"With the construction of the remaining 44 kilometers of railway in the East Azerbaijan Province this year, the work on the Tabriz railway will be completed,” he added.
Khademi said that it is also planned to connect the Rasht-Caspian port railway to the Iranian railway network this year. Some 40 kilometers of railway are being built in this direction.
The CEO stressed that the 278-kilometer-long Yazd-Eqlid railway will be commissioned by the end of the current Iranian year.
"The 137-kilometer-long Khaf-Herat railway will also be commissioned this Iranian year," he noted.
The length of the Rasht-Astara railway is 160 kilometers.
The Yazd-Eqlid railway is located between the Yazd and Fars provinces of Iran. The length of this railway is 278 kilometers. So far, more than $100 million funds have been spent on the construction of this railway and about $190 million funds are needed.
Construction of the 720-kilometer Chabahar-Zahedan railway began in 2010. In 2014, the construction of this railway was accelerated by changing the contractor. So far, 17 trillion rials (about $404 million) has been spent on the construction of this railway, and it is estimated that 40 trillion rials (about $952 million) will be required to complete the project. It was reported that after commissioning, 100 million tons of cargo will be transported by the railway a year.
About 300 million euros have been allocated by the National Development Fund of Iran for the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway.