Azernews.Az

TEHRAN – Iran intends to link its railways with Azerbaijan by next March as part of the North-South project, a major route to link Asia and Europe, according to Iranian Transport Minister Hamid Behbahani.

Behbahani told reporters Saturday that only an 8 km section of the rail line connecting Astara, Iran and Astara, Azerbaijan remains to be built.

He said creating the North-South corridor would facilitate Azerbaijan’s access to the Persian Gulf and Iran’s access to Europe and Russia. "And transporting cargo to these countries from Iran will turn Azerbaijan into a transit hub in the future."

The North-South project envisions connecting Europe by railways roads, sea and air to India and southeastern Asia through Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Most of the operations under the $400 million project are to be carried out in Iran, which has no railway link to its border with Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, operations worth $35-40 million are still ahead.

5 million tons of cargoes per year are initially to be transported via the North-South route, with the volume to be doubled or tripled in the coming years.

The agreement on the project was signed by Russia, Iran, India and Oman in 2001. Azerbaijan joined the project in 2005.