Azerbaijan, Iran actively coop within North-South project
By Sara Rajabova
The combination of railway systems of Azerbaijan and Iran within the framework of the "North-South" project will be possible within three to five years, Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panahov told journalists on September 10.
"Most of the work under the North-South project falls on the Iranian side, which is implementing the construction of the railway section Qazvin-Rasht.
According to the Iranian side, 60 percent of the work has already been done under this project.
After completion of the work within this section, a Rasht-Astara section will be built, he added.
Panahov also noted the possibility of holding a meeting soon between Azerbaijan and Iran to discuss the next steps related to connection of railway systems of the two countries.
The project of Rasht (Iran) - Astara (Azerbaijan) railway construction is of great importance to develop the international transport corridor North-South, the commodity market of which is estimated at 25-26 million tons by 2015. Significant part of the North-South project passes through the railways of Russia.
The Astara-Qazvin-Rasht railway is 205 kilometers in length, while the length of the Qazvin-Rasht railway section is 164 kilometers.
Thus, 82 bridges with total length of nine kilometers and 53 tunnels with a total length of 22 kilometers will be built within the framework of Astara-Qazvin-Rasht railway project.
The creation of direct railway communication along the western coast of the Caspian Sea can significantly contribute to the growth of the transportation market in the region and become a good impetus for the expansion of foreign economic relations of these countries with the European countries.