Russia and Iran may sign a contract in the next few months for the joint construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev told reporters.
"We talked through all the main conditions yesterday. We will exchange letters now, we agreed so with the minister of transport of Iran. We will present our companies on both sides, who will be involved. I think that in the near future - it may take a few months to create a general, main, contract between our companies that they will begin to implement this project. The money has been allocated, now we just need to prepare for the implementation," he said.
On May 17, 2023, representatives of the two countries, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev and Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash signed an agreement on the joint creation of this section. According to the document, Moscow and Tehran will jointly finance the design, construction, as well as the supply of goods and services. The length of Rasht-Astara line will be 162 km. It is needed to connect overland sections of the North-South international transport corridor, which will increase the economic efficiency of the western route.
Two types of rail gauge - 1435 and 1520 - will be used on the section. "We are starting with the 1435 gauge, but we will build the combined gauge, which allows simply putting one more rail if necessary to expand the volume of transportation - there are special rails", commented the head of the Ministry of transport of the Russian Federation.
About joint construction
According to Savelyev, both Iranian and Russian materials will be used for the construction of the section. "Some inert materials, construction materials, which are obviously significantly cheaper in Iran, because the shipment distance is shorter - for example, cement, sand, gravel - we can use in Iran. More complex products are the main component of the volume of financing - it will be supplied by Russian companies. These are rails, reinforced concrete products, cars, locomotives," he added.
Now, according to the minister, there is a bilateral search for authorized organizations of each party, which will interact with legal entities in the design and construction under the executive contract.
Financing and terms
Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the freight flow by this railroad may reach 15 million tons by 2030.
He noted that the project will be financed by a €1.3 bln intergovernmental loan. The total project cost is €1.6 bln. The Russian share in the loan is 85%.
First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov told reporters that the section is already being designed. According to him, the construction is planned to be completed in 2027 - in the third quarter or by the end of the year.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Martin Winkler/Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS