The Russian Federation, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran have signed a declaration on the development of the international North – South corridor project, the RF Government said in a statement. The document was signed by Alexander Novak, Vice Premier of Russia, Shakhin Mustafaev, Vice Premier of Azerbaijan, and Rustam Gasemi, Minister of roads and city development of Iran.
The parties of the declaration expressed their readiness to cooperate in estimating and analyzing the infrastructure and options to use the North – South transport corridor. The parties intend to hold the first meeting of the joint Russia – Azerbaijan – Iran working group within a month.
According to Novak, the project will allow of seamless transportation of cargo from the Russian Federation to Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf. The more than 4,000 km long route is to join Russia’s Baltic ports with ports in the Persian Gulf and give an opportunity to increase freight traffic in both directions.
Expanding the route capacity will be impossible without building new railway infrastructure to develop a single railway network in the western part of the route, including the 164 km Resht – Astara railway in Iran, Novak said. Building the railway will take several years, he added.
The would-be railway route should also include logistics and service centers for handling Russian cargo in the ports of Enzeli, Bender-Abbas, a port terminal in Bender-Abbas and a logistics hub in the Bender-Abbas port zone.
Another important condition to make the would-be project a success is facilitating processes and lifting administrative barriers for shippers. ‘We will develop a system of management and administering, of clearance at customs checkpoints, logistics centers, which are necessary for the project at terminals and in ports,’ RF Government press office quotes Novak as saying.
Photo: RF Government press office