BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 15. The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) will strengthen Iran's position as a regional transit and freight transportation hub.
According to the Gilan provincial government, Gilan Governor Hadi Haghshenas made the remarks during a meeting with Abbas Khatibi, deputy CEO of Iran's Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company.
"Once the Rasht-Astara railway becomes operational as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor, it will create capacity to transport 15 million metric tons of cargo annually. This will strengthen Iran's position in freight transportation and transit between India, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries and Northern Europe," he said.
Haghshenas noted that Azerbaijan's railway network is already connected to the Iranian city of Astara and that large volumes of cargo are transported along the route. He said this demonstrates the economic justification for further developing the Rasht-Astara railway.
The governor said Gilan Province serves as Iran's trade gateway to the Caspian littoral states. Upgrading the province's railway network, he added, would not only boost exports and transit but also help unlock the potential of its agriculture, tourism, maritime economy, industry, science and engineering sectors.
"The Rasht-Astara railway, the connection of Caspian Port to the national railway network, and the construction of the Caspian-Anzali railway are complementary rail projects. Together, they could turn Gilan Province into one of the country's most important transit and trade hubs," he said.
The foundation for the International North-South Transport Corridor was laid under an intergovernmental agreement signed by Russia, Iran and India on Sept. 12, 2000. Since then, a number of countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Ukraine.
The corridor is intended to reduce cargo transit times between India and Russia, as well as Northern and Western Europe. While shipments currently take more than six weeks via existing routes, transit through the North-South Corridor is expected to reduce delivery times to about three weeks.
As part of the project, the 175-kilometer (109-mile) Qazvin-Rasht railway was inaugurated on March 6, 2019, linking Azerbaijan's railway network with Iran's rail system. The Rasht-Astara railway section in Iran remains to be completed.
Within Iran, the North-South Corridor consists of three routes. The eastern route connects through Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the central route runs across the Caspian Sea to Russia and other destinations, and the western route passes through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Eastern European countries.
