BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 22. The cargo transit on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) has been boosted by the new road bridge over Astarachay River that connects Iran and Azerbaijan, said Mohammad Rezvanifar, the Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance and Director General of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Trend reports.
Rezvanifar said that the Astara customs saw a 28 percent rise in cargo transit in the first 11 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2023 to February 19, 2024). During this period, 502,000 tons of cargo passed through the Astara customs.
He also added that the customs in the special economic zone of the Astara port handled 407,000 tons of products, which was an 86 percent increase from the same period last year.
The new bridge over Astarachay River, which cost 5.8 million euros to build, was opened on December 30, 2023. The bridge has 3 spans, and measures 97.5 meters in length and 30.5 meters in width. However, the bridge is not fully operational yet, as some buildings around it are still under construction. The foundation of the new bridge over Astarachay River was laid on January 25, 2022.
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 Northern and Western Europe. Delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via International North-South Transport Corridor.
The INSTC has three routes on Iran's territory. The eastern route is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the middle route is Russia and other countries via the Caspian Sea, and the western route is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Eastern European countries.
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