Russia's Transportation Ministry expects construction to be completed on Rasht-Astara railway section in Iran by 2028

MOSCOW. July 26 (Interfax) - Russia's Transportation Ministry expects construction to be completed on the Rasht-Astara railway section in Iran by 2028, Transportation Minister Vitaly Savelyev said on Wednesday at the government hour in the State Duma.

"As part of developing the western route of the North-South ITC, an intergovernmental agreement was signed in May 2023, resulting from nearly 20 years of discussions on constructing the missing section of the Rasht-Astara railway line in Iran, totaling all of 162 km. Signing the agreement has concluded 20 years of work. We expect construction to be fully completed by 2028," Savelyev said.

As previously reported, Russia and Iran in May signed an agreement on cooperation to finance the design, construction, and supply of goods and services for creating the Rasht-Astara railway. The document was signed with the participation of the heads of state, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin joined the ceremony via video link.

Russia should also reportedly allocate an intergovernmental loan totaling 1.3 billion euros for the construction. The total cost of the project is 1.6 billion euros.