BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 2. The 150 km-long part of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line in the Sistan and Baluchistan Province (south-eastern Iran) will be put into use during the Government Week in Iran (August 24 through August 30, 2022), Deputy Minister of Iran's Roads and Urban Development, and the CEO of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company (CDTIC) Kheirollah Khademi said, Trend reports citing the ministry.
The deputy minister noted that work on the mentioned phase is nearing completion.
Khademi added that in order to accelerate the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway, the construction of the railway line was divided into two phases. Within the 1st phase, Iran's Chabahar port will be connected to the country's railway network as well.
“There is a-60 percent physical progress in construction, as far as phase one is concerned, which totals 630 kilometers," he said. "Another $200 million is needed to fully complete the work on phase one."
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.
After commissioning, 100 million tons of cargo will be transported by 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.
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