Tehran, Iran, Feb. 28
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad – Trend:
Iran and Russia are expected to finalize a deal to electrify a 500-km railway route in northern Iran within the coming months, a senior official told Trend.
Maziar Yazdani, a deputy head of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, has said that the contract for the electrification of Inche Burun railway will be signed in the new Iranian calendar year, which begins on March 20.
Saying that Russians will finance the railway connecting the cities of Tehran, Gorgan, Garmsar and Inche Burun, he added that the project, which is estimated to cost about 1.2 billion euros, will be completed within four years.
The railway line extends into Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, linking Central Asia to the Persian Gulf and beyond, and the initial agreement for cooperation was reached during a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tehran back in November 2015.
It was earlier reported that Russian railway operator RZD International would contribute to the project and the project will be financed by the state export credit granted by the Government of the Russian Federation to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.