“Azerbaijan-Iran railway project to be completed till 2017”

Azerbaijan and Iran agreed to create a budget of $500 mln to finance the Rasht-Astara railway as the part of North-South Transport Project.

Mahmoud Vaezi, Iranian Minister of Communication told that “Iran has completed 92% of infrastructure works in the area of Qazvin-Rasht. The area is left to lay the rails, and it will be done soon. We expect that the Qazvin-Rasht station will be fully ready by the end of 2016,” and added “Construction of the railway Rasht-Astara requires about a billion dollars of investment, $500 mln of which will be allocated in the form of a loan by Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani credit will significantly accelerate the implementation of the project of North-South,” News.az reported.

Iran will allocate the rest of the finance to complete North-South Transportation Project’s Azerbaijan-Iran section.

The North-South Transport Corridor is one of the most important regional projects in the world. The main objective is to create a connection by rail, ship and roadways from India to Europe by using Caucasus region.

Russia, Iran, and India signed an agreement for the project in 2002. Azerbaijan stands as an important station which connects Iran and Russia. The annual aim is to carry 1.5 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo. North-South Transport Corridor will provide great opportunities to Azerbaijan and Iran as the transit routes between Europe and India. Tehran and Baku work to finish their parts for this.