While there are still political and economic challenges in the development of the North-South Corridor, important agreements on trade and transport have been signed in parallel with the official project concerning the Corridor. Iran plays an active part in emphasising the trade connections with Central Asia, as on its territory, more precisely between Iran and Azerbaijan, the construction of the line Qazvin – Astara – Rasht was initiated. At the moment, the line is the only missing section of the Corridor.
In February 2012, Iranian, Azerbaijani and Russian officials have met to discuss perspectives on building railways on the North-South Corridor. They have also discussed the set-up of a joint venture for the design and construction of Qazvin – Rasht – Astara section (Iran) to Astara (Azerbaijan).
According to the Deputy Minister of Roads, Ahmad Sadeghi, Qazvin-Rasht-Astara line will be ready by March 2014. Currently, the line is 67% completed and 15 of the 22 tunnels included in the projects have been 70% finalized. Countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and even Afghanistan have expressed their interest in developing this corridor in railway-related activities. The operation of the North-South corridor leads to considerable reduction of transit time and increasing volume for freight transportation, according to Iranian Railways (RAI), from the currently 45-60 days to 25-30 days. In October 2010, during the 1520 Forum held in Baku
(Azerbaijan), agreements were signed on the initiation of railway constructions for the single missing link along the North-South Corridor, the 375-km long Qazvin – Astara -Rasht route. Presently, works are underway. The largest share of the section, of 300 km, is located in Iran, which in 2012, allocated USD 111 Million to the construction of the line. According to the technical and economic specifications, the capacity of the new line Rasht (Iran) – Astara (Azerbaijan) could reach 9 million tonnes in 2015 and more than 19 million tonnes by 2030. The total amount of investments for the construction of this line is estimated at USD 408 Million.
RZD said it was ready to participate in the implementation of the North-South international transport corridor project, according to the statements of the company’s Vice President, Vadim Morozov.
“Within the implementation of the railway line, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran have begun the construction of line Uzen-Gorgan in parallel with the Caspian Sea coast to replace the current, longer route to Iran”, said Vadim Morozov.
“The construction of this route will make possible for the first time in history the development of a railway connection of about 4,500 km from St. Petersburg to the port of Bandar Abbas (Iran) in the Persian Gulf and a shorter connection between North-Western and Central Europe with the countries in Middle East and South Asia”, he added. The railway will be used for the organisation of international container railway traffic and, according to experts, the freight transport market is estimated at 16-17 million tonnes.
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