Astara, Azerbaijan, Apr. 20
By Maksim Tsurkov, Emil Ilgar - Trend:
Infrastructural works for the Qazvin-Rasht railway have been completed by 92 percent, Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi said.
He made the remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of a railroad bridge over the Astara River on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border on Apr. 20.
The minister said the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway's construction will end by late 2016.
Vaezi said the needed rails have been purchased for this project, which is a part of the North-South Corridor.
"Iran's government has increased the allocated budget for this project during the current fiscal year, and Iran is in talks with Azerbaijan and Russia to cooperate with them in the realization of the project's Rasht-Astara section," he added.
Vaezi also said the project will link the countries in an area from India to Finland, helping to transport 10 million tons of cargos a year.