BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. The creation of a trilateral committee to address transport and customs issues involving Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia is crucial, said Farzaneh Sadegh, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, in a video meeting with Russia's Minister of Transport Roman Starovoyt, Trend reports.
According to Sadegh, given the activation of the eastern route of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), it is essential to also activate the western route of the corridor.
Sadegh noted that the ongoing meetings related to the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, as part of the INSTC cooperation between Iran and Russia, have led to the regulation of a joint cooperation agreement and the preparation of a roadmap for 2025.
The Iranian minister explained that, according to previous agreements within the framework of the INSTC, freight transportation is expected to reach 10 million tons per year initially and increase to 20 million tons in subsequent phases.
Sadegh also emphasized the potential for expanding trade vessel capacity in the Caspian Sea and increasing passenger transportation routes.
To note, the intergovernmental agreement signed on September 12, 2000, between Russia, Iran, and India laid the foundation for the North-South Transport Corridor. In general, several countries have ratified the agreement. (Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Bulgaria, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Sultanate of Oman, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Türkiye, Ukraine). The purpose of the corridor is to reduce the time of cargo delivery from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe (the delivery time along the current route is more than 6 weeks, and through “North-South” is expected to be 3 weeks).
In order to connect Azerbaijan Railways with the Iranian railroad network within the corridor, the Qazvin-Rasht railroad (175 km) was put into operation on March 6, 2019. The Rasht-Astara railroad is to be built on the territory of Iran.
The North-South Corridor has three directions in Iran. East direction: Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries; Middle direction: other countries across the Caspian Sea; West direction: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.
On May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to build the Rasht-Astara railroad line in Gilan province, northern Iran. The 163-kilometer-long Rasht-Astara railway line will house nine stations. The completion of this railroad will enhance the North-South international corridor and connect Iran's railroad network to the Caucasus countries, Russia, and Northern European countries. Under the agreement, the Russian side is to spend 1.6 billion euros on the construction of this railroad. This railroad is planned to be built and completed within 48 months.