BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 4. Iran intends to complete the construction of the eastern railway section of the North-South International Transport Corridor by the end of the next Iranian year (March 20, 2026), said Hamid Pourmohammadi, Vice President and Head of the Planning and Budget Organization, Trend reports.
In a statement to local media, Pourmohammadi explained that the necessary funding for the completion of the Zahidan-Chabahar railway line in southeastern Iran will amount to 200 trillion rials (about $349 million). There are no restrictions on securing the required funds for the project.
He emphasized that the railway will connect Chabahar Port to the country’s railway network, playing a vital role in regional and international freight transportation and transit development.
The Iranian VP added that this railway line will initially connect Chabahar to Zahidan, with plans to extend it further to Mashhad and Sarakhs in the next phase.
"Integrating this railway line into Iran's national network will significantly boost domestic freight transport. The Chabahar-Zahedan railway will streamline cargo movement to Central Asia, Afghanistan, and even Europe, while also opening up investment opportunities in the region by lowering transportation costs," he said.
To note, construction of the 720-kilometer Chabahar-Zahedan railway began in 2010. In 2014, the construction of this railway was accelerated by changing the contractor. So far, 17 trillion rials (about $404 million) have been spent on the construction of this railway, and it is estimated that 40 trillion rials (about $952 million) will be required to complete the project.
Once operational, this railway is expected to handle 100 million tons of cargo annually. In addition, about 300 million euros have been allocated by the National Development Fund of Iran for the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway.
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 the International North-South Transport Corridor.
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 3 directions in the territory of Iran. Eastern direction: Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries; Middle direction: other countries across the Caspian Sea; Western direction: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.