BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 6. Today, a section of the Isfahan-Shiraz controlled-access highway was inaugurated in Iran, a development that will play a significant role in the North-South and East-West International Transport Corridors, said Houshang Bazvand, Executive Director at Iran's Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC),Trend reports.
Bazvand indicated that the seventh segment of the thoroughfare,
extending over a distance of 12 kilometers, has been commissioned
with a projected valuation of 220 trillion rials (approximately
$375 million).
Bazvand highlighted that the Isfahan-Shiraz thoroughfare will
facilitate connectivity between Iran’s northern maritime gateways,
encompassing Anzali, and its southern maritime terminals, including
Bushehr. He articulated that the newly established trajectory will
truncate the travel distance by 134 kilometers and compress the
travel duration by two hours, thereby yielding an annual
conservation of approximately 136 million liters of fuel, which
translates to a fiscal benefit of around 40 trillion rials
(approximately $68.2 million) in cumulative yearly savings.
The Isfahan–Shiraz thoroughfare spans a substantial 370 kilometers,
functioning as a pivotal artery linking the central region of Iran
to its southern territories.
To note, an 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 creating the corridor is to reduce the time of delivery of goods coming from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe (the delivery time on the current route is more than six weeks; it is expected to be three weeks via “North-South”).
The Qazvin-Rasht railroad (175 km) was put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijan's railroads with Iran's railway network within the corridor. The Rasht-Astara railroad is to be built on Iranian territory.
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.
On May 17, 2023, an agreement was signed between Russia and Iran on the construction of 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 the Caucasus countries, Russia, and Northern European countries. According to the agreement, the Russian side is expected to spend 1.6 billion euro for the construction of this railroad. This railroad will be built and completed within 48 months.
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