South-West corrdior to ensure goods delivery for 7 days [PHOTO]
By Amina Nazarli
The cargo transportation from India to Europe via Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine and in the opposite direction along the South-West Transport Corridor will take seven days, according to preliminary estimates.
Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways Javid Gurbanov announced about this while addressing a meeting with a delegation headed by Chairman of the Board Ukrainian Railways Balchun Wojciech.
The South-West route, , which is of great importance for Azerbaijan will provide freight transportation en route India – Persian Gulf – Iran – Azerbaijan – Georgia – Black Sea – Europe. The corridor is more attractive for the transportation of goods, while its main advantage is the reduction of the distance and delivery time two or threefold, as compared to other alternative routes, which provide cargo transportation within 35-37 days.
The initial capacity of the route will stand at 10,000 of cargo
per year, while the volume will be further increased up many
times.
He also informed the guests about the works carried out within the
framework of the North-South Transport Corridor to connect Northern
Europe to South-East Asia.
“The laying of a 8.3 km railway from the Astara station to the
state border of Iran, as well as the construction of a railway
bridge over the Astarachay river has already been completed. The
other day the test train crossed the border through the new
bridge,” said Gurbanov.
The North-South transport corridor is designed for the delivery of
goods, in particular, from India and the Persian Gulf region to
Russia, the countries of Western Europe, the Baltic and
Scandinavian countries. The main advantage of this corridor from
other routes is the distance and transit time, which is two to
three times less, he said.
The North-South has a strategic importance for the region, since it will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.
At the initial stage, the North-South corridor will transport 5 million tons of cargo per year with further expansion of transportation to over 10 million tons. Along with making a great contribution to the diversification of Azerbaijan's economy the project is expected to turn the country into a major transport hub.
The project, which is considered to be a strategically important and advantageous in terms of time of transit cargo transportation, is also expected to bring great economic benefits. The route, part of which will pass along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan enjoys several advantages compared to other transport such as Suez Canal-the Mediterranean Sea-Northern Europe and the Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Russia-Northern Europe routes.
Wojciech, in turn, noted that Ukraine is interested in
participating in the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to
increase trade with Azerbaijan.
Following the event, a trilateral format meeting was held with the
participation of the Deputy Chairman of the Georgian Railway Aleksi
Nikolashvili.
At the end of the meeting, a protocol of intent was signed between the railway agencies of Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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