ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 3. The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) has taken a special place in the new configuration of Eurasian transport corridors in 2023, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) said, Trend reports.
According to the EDB, in 2023, agreements were signed to complete the construction of the last necessary section of the railway of the western route North-South - Rasht - Astara in Iran - worth 1.6 billion euros (1.3 billion euros - a loan from Russia, the rest - funds from the Iranian side and infrastructure banks).
As the EBD noted, the implementation of this project should begin in 2024. The completion of work is scheduled for 2027.
At the same time, projects are being implemented to expand the capacity of the seaports of Olya (Russia), Aktau and Kuryk (Kazakhstan), etc. Work is underway to create a union of special economic zones.
In addition to this, to stimulate transportation, transit countries are introducing benefits for container deliveries with uniformly reduced rates for the use of infrastructure.
Thus, Russian Railways announced that it had reached agreements with partners regarding discounts on the eastern route of the North-South corridor (40 percent in Kazakhstan for transportation of the main range of goods, 40–50 percent in Turkmenistan).
The foundation of the INSTC was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000.
In total, 13 countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Ukraine) have ratified the agreement.
