Iran, Russia to sign Rasht-Astara railway contract next month

IRNA

Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh has said that Iran and Russia are scheduled to sign a railway agreement next month in Moscow.

The contract borders on the construction of Rasht-Astara railway and to complete integration of railways of Azerbaijan, India, Iran, and Russia.

Speaking during the launching of a road development project in central Iran on Sunday, the minister said the final agreement on signing the Rasht-Astara railway construction project in Iran’s Caspian Province of Guilan was reached during her visit to neighboring Azerbaijan earlier this month.

“The trilateral meeting in Baku on transport and cargo transportation between Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia was an important event that focused on completion of the North-South Corridor,” she said.

The Astara–Rasht railway is the missing link of the 7,200-km long International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that will link railways of Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and India.

It will be 162 kilometers long consisting of 56 bridges and 35 overpasses.

Meanwhile the deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Houshang Bazvand has announced Russia’s agreement to finance the railway project worth 1.6 billion dollars.

“Russia has agreed to provide Iran with $1.6 billion in low-cost facilities, with a 3% interest rate for the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway,” he told reporters on Sunday.

Neighboring Azerbaijan and Iran are two key hubs of the INSTC multi-modal transport network.

It is intended to move freight between Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Europe, India, Iran, and Russia by increasing connectivity between Mumbai, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Anzali, Baku, Astarakhan and Moscow.

Following the Iranian minister’s visit to Baku in October to take part in the tri-lateral meeting, Sadegh said that both countries reviewed the progress of joint transport and transit projects and agreed on organising goods transportation at the border via rail and road.

“Progress of the joint infrastructure projects demonstrates Baku and Tehran’s firm determination to advance their shared development objectives,” said Sadegh who is the co-chairperson of the Azerbaijan-Iran Joint Economic Cooperation Commission.

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