Azerbaijan, Iran accelerate work to connect their railways

The delegations of Azerbaijan and Iran will familiarize themselves with the construction of the Astara (Iran) - Astara (Azerbaijan) railway line October 9-10 within the framework of the North-South international transport corridor, the message of the ministry of economy and industry of Azerbaijan said Oct. 2.

The meetings of delegations headed by co-chairs of the Azerbaijani-Iranian intergovernmental commission on cooperation in economic, trade and humanitarian spheres will be held in Lankaran, Azerbaijani Astara and Iranian Astara.

The Azerbaijani delegation headed by the Minister of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev also includes representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs and transport of the State Customs Committee (SCC) of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Railways CJSC and the State Border Service. The Iranian side will also be represented at the highest level.

“The parties will discuss the infrastructure to be created and the organization of coordinated work,” the message said.

The length of the Astara (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) railway is 7 kilometers. Its two-kilometer section is being built on the territory of Iran. A decision was made at the meeting to build a cargo terminal in Iran’s Astara.

Iran is interested in the rapid construction of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway. This railway will facilitate the way from Central Asia and Europe to the Persian Gulf and connect Iran with these regions and the Caucasus. Previously, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani instructed to complete the railway construction in 2016.

The Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway is part of the North-South transport corridor. The investments made in the construction are estimated at $400 million. At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 6 million metric tons per year and up to 15-20 million metric tons per year in the future.

/By Trend/