TEHRAN, Iran. Jan.26
Trend:
Iran is seeking foreign investment to complete the construction of the Rasht-Astara Railway Project, Iran's parliament representative for Gilan Province Jabar Kouchakinejad told Trend.
"The project requires $2 billion to be completed. Purchasing lands for the construction of railway stations and installing rails is considerably costly. Iran can't allocate the needed funds, so foreign investment is necessary," he said.
Qazvin-Rasht-Astara (Iran)-Astara (Azerbaijan) railway project is of great importance in the International North-South Transportation Corridor.
"The project is important both for Iran overall and for Gilan Province in particular. The Qazvin-Rasht railway wouldn't be practical for cargo, passenger transportation if it isn't connected to Astara. So this route would be economically beneficial and also link northern and southern parts of Iran, thus accelerating cargo transit to Central Asia," said the MP.
The MP went on to add that Iran expects help from Azerbaijan and Russia, investment wise.