Considerable Progress in Talks on Constructing Rasht-Astara Railway: Official

Iran’s deputy minister of roads and urban development on Wednesday said that significant progress has been made in negotiations held with Russian officials on constructing the Rasht-Astara Railway project.

News ID: ۸۰۵۵۰۵

27 October 2023

In a meeting held between CEO of Iran’s Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC) Kheirollah Khademi and CEO of Russia’s Caspian Services Company Yuri Kuzmin and the accompanying delegation on Wednesday, the two sides emphasized the acceleration of the construction operation of the railway.

The deputy roads minister pointed to the contract inked between Iran and Russia for the construction of the Rasht-Astara Railway in July and said the details of the contract have been provided in three volumes an include general and private terms and conditions of the contract, commitments of employer and structure of cooperation in the fields of expenses, scheduling date, construction, etc.

During the meeting, Khademi called for announcing the scheduled program and compilation of the roadmap by the Russian side.

He placed special emphasis on the high potential and capacities of Iranian companies, noting that the high expertise and technical know-how of the companies can be used to accelerate the construction operation of the railway.

The 162-km Rasht-Astara Railway is considered an important section of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which connects Iran's rail network to the Caucasus, Russia and North Europe, he said, adding that the railway will facilitate the trade exchanges between Helsinki Port in Finland, Hamburg Port in Germany, Batumi of Georgia, southern Iranian ports, ports of New Delhi, Karachi of Pakistan and Bangkok of Thailand. / Tasnim