19 May 2023 20:30

Rasht-Astara railroad in Iran to be built by end of 2027 - Russian First Deputy PM Belousov

KAZAN. May 19 (Interfax) - A railroad connecting Rasht and Astara in Iran, which should become part of the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC), will be built by the end of 2027, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov told journalists on the sidelines of the Russia-Islamic World KazanForum.

"In line with our agreement, the construction should take four years. Designing and geological prospecting are already underway. We plan that all work should be completed in Q3 2027 or by the end of 2027," Belousov said when asked how long the construction would take.

Speaking of the development of the Trans-Caspian section of the North-South ITC, Belousov said active work is currently underway to launch this route. The Caspian Sea's coastal zone is shallow, and in order for vessels with a draft of four meters to enter there, dredging works began earlier this year to build a special canal. "All of this is moving ahead quite successfully, and we assume that the volume of transportation along this route would reach 10 million tonnes by 2030," he said.

"We plan to bring the North-South carrying capacity to 41-45 million tonnes by 2030, which is three times as much as now. We're currently transporting about 15 million tonnes along these three routes [the Eastern, Central, and Trans-Caspian ones]," he said.

As reported earlier, Russia and Iran on Wednesday signed an agreement on jointly financing the design, construction, and delivery of goods and services for building the Rasht-Astara railroad in Iran. The document was signed in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who joined the ceremony online.

It was also reported that Russia would issue a 1.3-billion-euro inter-state loan to finance the construction. The overall cost of the project has been estimated at 1.6 billion euros.