Tehran, April 24 (MRUD NEWS)—Iran Transport Development Fund, the International Coordinating Council on Trans-Eurasian Transportation (CCTT), and the Economic Development Center of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) signed a tripartite MoU in an official ceremony in Moscow on the sidelines of the visit for the 27th TransRussia Exhibition for Transport and Logistics Services, Warehouse Equipment and Technologies which opened on April 17.
The MoU aims to align regional coordination to increase freight transit and trade along the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
This is achieved following a number of recent transport initiatives including Iran and Russia negotiations between authorities of Iran Ministry of Roads and Urban Development including the Minister, Mehrdad Bazrpash, and senior aide to the president of the Russian Federation, Igor Yevgenyevich Levitin as well as Russian Deputy Transport Minister, Dmitry Zverev during last months.
Particularly relevant, had been the ongoing negotiations between Iran and Russia for completion of the Rasht-Astara Railway since last year. Abbas Khatibi, the deputy at Iran's Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company informed in early April that Iran, Russia will agree for completion of Rasht-Astara Railway in the form of a credit line offered by Russia in May.
Also, earlier in March, Iran deputy transport minister, Shahriyar Afandizadeh, informed that the Russian's proposed draft of the agreement for financing construction of Rasht-Astara Railway is being considered at Iran Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.
In addition to the international financing for the key transport projects in Iran, the head of Iran Transport Development Fund, Davoud Danesh-Jafari, speaking to the reporters in the TransRussia Exhibition, said that following the formation of Transport Development Fund in Iran in 2019, as part of the plan to develop the transport infrastructures in different modes of transport, Iran has an eye on its mechanisms as a financial tool to develop its transport infrastructures specially along the INSTC.
Through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the Fund attempts to attract and mobilize domestic and international investments to the transport projects.
Among these transport projects are two important missing links along the INSTC including the Rasht-Astara Railway and the Chabahar-Zahedan Railway towards Turkmenistan Border that can speed up by taking advantage of private investments in Iran and international investments, Danesh-Jafari further explained.
Completion of the 162-km Rasht-Astara Railway is vital for the rail transit as it is the missing link along the route.