BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 18. Iran intends to accelerate the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line, a part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), using its new technical capabilities, Deputy Minister of Iran's Roads and Urban Development, and the CEO of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company (CDTIC) Kheirollah Khademi said, Trend reports citing the ministry.
According to Khademi, the only unfinished part within the INSTC is the Rasht-Astara railway line, and Iran should complete the construction of this strategic railway line soon. The railway line will connect Iran with the Caucasian countries, Russia and Easter European countries.
“A large amount of money is needed for the purchase of agricultural areas and residential areas located on the Astara-Rasht railway line from the citizens. Work is being carried out to provide needed funds and purchase the areas,” he added.
The CEO noted that the construction work on the 10 km long part of the mentioned railway line from direction of Rasht County has already been completed and the rails are ready to be laid in this part. In addition, construction work has started on the 11.5 km part of the railway from direction of Astara County.
The deputy minister also pointed out that currently, 180 trillion rials (about $4.28 billion) is needed to complete the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line, and if the costs for purchasing of necessary areas from citizens are added, the figure stands at about 200 trillion rials (about $4.76 billion).
At present, a railway terminal is being built between Iran and Azerbaijan in Iran’s Astara city. A part of this, railway terminal has already been put into use.
On January 25, 2022, the foundation of a new bridge over the Astarachay River on the border of Azerbaijan-Iran was laid. The construction of the 97.5-meter-long and 30.5-meter-wide bridge is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The foundation of the ‘International North-South Transport Corridor’ was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000.
In total, 13 countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Russia, Türkiye, etc.
The purpose of creating a corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo from India to Russia, as well as to North and West Europe. Delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via North-South Transport Corridor.
The 175 km long Qazvin-Rasht railway was officially put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijani railways with the Iranian railway network within the corridor. In addition, the 167 km long Rasht-Astara railway line must be built in Iran.
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