BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 19
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
The CIS countries, as well as the Caucasus and European countries will able get connected to Iran's Chabahar Port via railways with the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line in the Sistan and Baluchestan Province (south-eastern Iran), Deputy Director of the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC), Abbas Khatibi said,Trend reports citing Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
The official noted that the 720-kilometer Chabahar-Zahedan railway line will allow activate most of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in Iran.
According to Khatibi, there is currently a 57-percent physical progress in the construction of the railway line. If needed funds are provided, the construction of the railway line will be completed by the end of next Iranian year (March 20, 2023).
"The rails have already been laid in the area of 154 km on the Zahedan-Khash part of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line, and in total there is 85-percent physical progress. The efforts are being made to put this section into operation as soon as possible," he said.
As for financial support the deputy director said that, it was decided to allocate 300 million euro from the National Development Fund of Iran for the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line. So far, 200 million euro has been provided by the fund. However, a total of 550 million euro is needed for the construction of the railway line.
Therefore, in addition to the funds of the National Development Fund, a minimum of 250 million euro should be provided.
Khatibi also pointed out that the US sanctions against Iran are hampering funding for the railway line. Therefore, efforts are being made to provide these funds with the country's budget and goods barter.
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) have 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. After commissioning, 100 million tons of cargo will be transported by railway a year.
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