Tehran, August 23 (MRUD NEWS)—Iran and Russian transport officials are meeting in Tehran to discuss the details of construction of Rasht-Astara Railroad project which is the missing route along the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
The agenda is discussed in the meeting of the deputy minister and the CEO of Iran's Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC), Kheirollah Khademi, with the technical delegations from Russian Railways on August 22.
In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on participation for implementation of Rasht-Astara Railroad with the presence of managers and experts, representatives of the contractor and consulting engineers of the project.
According to Iran deputy minister, "technically, there are no obstacles to the implementation of the project, and considering the similar experience of the construction of the Qazvin-Rasht Railway by Iran, if the necessary resources are provided by Russia, this strategic rail route will be completed and operated within three to four years".
In the meeting, Khademi emphasized the importance of the International North-South Transport Corridor as a key transport route from St. Petersburg to the ports of Iran and India and added that the INSTC will link countries of Northern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia through Iran to the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian countries. It provides the cheapest and fastest transit route available to these countries.
The meeting is held following the visit of the President of Iran and the Prime Minister of Russia and their emphasis on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway due to the importance of this railroad for the two countries. Thus, the terms and conditions of cooperation in design, implementation, and technical specifications of the project were discussed in the meeting.
Generally, development of Iran's railway network is among top policies of the government and Rasht- Astara Railroad is the top priority project. Currently, there are 14,000 km railway routes in Iran, and the country plans to increase the railway network to 25,000 kilometers.
Moreover, Khademi pointed to the Rasht-Caspian Railway as a multimodal (rail and sea) transit route by Iran along the INSTC. Currently, this rail route is a branch of the Qazvin-Rasht railway and it aims to connect Bandar Abbas Port in the south to Bandar Anzali in the north of Iran. The project is running with a physical progress of 75% and it is expected to be operationalized by the end of this year.
Noteworthy, the Russian delegation is to visit the Qazvin-Rasht Railway and the Rasht-Astara Railway.
Basically, the most important agenda for Iran, Russia bilateral transport cooperation is the 7200 km-long International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and completion of Rasht-Astara Railroad which is a missing route along the INSTC and after completion of this railroad, northern Europe will be connected to the Indian Subcontinent.
The INSTC is an important transport agenda which is expected to considerably boost transit and trade of Iran and Russia with the countries of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.