BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 5. As many as 60 trillion rials (approximately $104 million) are expected to be spent on purchasing the land along the Rasht-Astara railway line in northern Iran as part of the North-South International Transport Corridor, Deputy Head of the Iranian Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company Abbas Khatibi told local media, Trend reports.
According to him, so far, 15 trillion rials (about $2.6 million) of the aforementioned funds have been allocated, and the ownership of 45 kilometers of land has been purchased.
Khatibi said that it is expected that another 70 kilometers of land will be purchased by September 22.
The Iranian official noted that in total, the ownership of the 162 kilometers of land along which the railway line passes is expected to be purchased by the end of the year (March 20, 2026).
Khatibi said that detailed discussions have been held on the basis of the agreement reached between Iran and Russia regarding financial provision. So far, 80 percent of progress has been made in the discussions. However, a final trade agreement has not been signed yet.
“So far, 34 kilometers of the Rasht-Astara railway line have been handed over to the Russian side, and the Russian side is currently in the process of mapping and starting construction work,” he added.
The intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000, laid the foundation for the North-South Transport Corridor. In general, several countries have ratified the said agreement (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine). The purpose of establishing the corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo traveling from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe (the delivery time along the existing route is more than six weeks; it is expected to be three weeks via North-South).
The Gazvin-Rasht railroad, stretching 175 km, hit the ground running on March 6, 2019, linking Azerbaijan's railroads with Iran's railway network in the corridor. The Rasht-Astara railroad is set to take shape on Iranian soil.
The North-South Corridor has three directions within Iran. The eastern direction is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the middle direction is Russia and other countries across the Caspian Sea, and the western direction is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.
To note, Russia and Iran signed an agreement on May 17, 2023, to build the Rasht-Astara railroad in Gilan Province in northern Iran. Nine stations will be built on the Rasht-Astara railroad line, which is about 163 kilometers long. With the completion of this railroad, the North-South international corridor will be improved, and Iran's railroad network will be integrated with Caucasus countries, Russia, and Northern European countries. According to the agreement, the Russian side is expected to spend 1.6 billion euros for the construction of this railroad. This railroad will be built and completed within 48 months.
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