BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
About 700 wagons of cargo were transited by railway of Astara county in Gilan Province (northern Iran) from the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2020) to June 30, Director General of Astara Customs Office Rasoul Omidi told IRNA, Trend reports.
According to Omidi, this is an increase of about 30 percent compared to the same period last Iranian year.
Omidi added that the number of wagons transited products via the Astara railway was less than 6,000 in the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020).
“Given the growth in product transit in the current Iranian year, the number of wagons is expected to increase to 8,000-9,000 by the end of the year," he said.
The director general stressed that 41,000 tons of products worth a total of $182 million were transited through Iran's Astara customs’ water, land and rail borders during the three months of the current Iranian year (March 20-June 20, 2020).
Omidi noted that the product transit through Astara customs increased by 22 percent in terms of weight and by 189 percent in terms of value compared to the same period last Iranian year.
"Construction of the Rasht-Astara railway will further improve transportation via the North-South International Railway Corridor, and cargo that transported by trucks through the Astara railway terminal will be transported by railway in a shorter time and at a lower cost," he said
The director general said that currently, many customs, which are located in southern Iran, export their products to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and EU countries through Astara customs.
The Astara-Astara railway between Azerbaijan and Iran was put into operation in March 2018.
