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Transit route from Persian Gulf to Europe to cross via Azerbaijan

25 May 2016 17:55 (UTC+04:00)
Transit route from Persian Gulf to Europe to cross via Azerbaijan

By Rashid Shirinov

Iran plans to organize a transit route from its port city of Bandar Abbas to Europe, Hassan Ashouri, Deputy Managing Director of Iranian Railway told media.

Taking into account the complicated Turkish-Russian relations, Iran proposed an itinerary of rail and road links which are designed to start from Bandar Abbas, then enter Azerbaijan and follow to Georgian Batumi and Poti ports.

Ashouri added that an agreement between the three countries has already been reached. Hence, goods will be shipped to the ports of Bulgaria through the Black Sea. Afterwards they will enter Romania and thereon achieve the rest of Europe.

Ashouri also noted that while Rasht-Astara railway, connecting Azerbaijan and Iran railroads, is not completed yet, the freight will still be transported by roads there.

He mentioned that transporting goods from Indian Mumbai to Europe by means of this route will also be possible. The notable aspect is that the route will omit Turkey on its way. Taking this into account, the expected transportation period of freight will reduce from 45 to 23 days.

The Deputy Director also noted that a branch of the route can be extended to Moscow and then to Finland in the framework of the Iranian-Russian railways agreement.

In February, Azerbaijan suggested to establish a rail link connecting Iranian Bandar Abbas and Finnish Helsinki. The project of North-South corridor from India to Helsinki was proposed by Taleh Ziyadov, the Director General of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, in the CIS Global Business forum in Dubai.

The North-South corridor with a length of 5,000 kilometers is designed to carry more than 20 million tons per year. It is a multimodal route for transportation of passengers and cargo from Russia's St. Petersburg to the Mumbai port. The corridor is designed to carry transit cargo from India, Iran and other Persian Gulf countries to the territory of Russia (the Caspian Sea) and further - to Northern and Western Europe.

@RashidShirinov

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