BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 26. The construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line in Gilan Province (northern Iran), will enable Iran to access Azerbaijan, Russia and Eastern Europe, Deputy Minister of Iran's Roads and Urban Development, and CEO of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company (CDTIC), Kheirollah Khademi said, Trend reports citing the ministry.
According to Khademi, about 50 percent of the 167 km long railway line will be bridged. Because there are agricultural areas where the railway will be built. About 20 trillion rials (about $476 million) are needed to purchase the property in these areas.
"Furthermore, 200 trillion rials (about $4.76 billion) is needed for the construction of the railway line. It is planned to provide the funds both through local and foreign investments," he said.
The deputy minister added that in this direction, the Russian side is interested in the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line. The railway project was presented to the Russian side during the consultations between the officials of the two countries. Within the next 1 month, the Russian side will give its opinion on the railway project.
“Rasht-Astara railway line will play a strategic role in the country's railway transport. It is estimated that most of the cargo will be transported from Southeast Asia to Russia and Eastern Europe through this railway,” Khademi noted.
The foundation of the ‘International North-South Transport Corridor’ was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000.
In total, 13 countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Russia, Türkiye, etc.
The purpose of creating a corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo from India to Russia, as well as to North and West Europe. Delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via North-South Transport Corridor.
The 175 km long Qazvin-Rasht railway was officially put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijani railways with the Iranian railway network within the corridor. In addition, the 167 km long Rasht-Astara railway line must be built in Iran.
---
Follow the author on Twitter:@BaghishovElnur