ECO delegation visits Iran’s Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway project
By Sara Rajabova
A delegation consisted of 37 high-ranking officials of Economic
Cooperation Organization (ECO) visited Iran's under-construction
Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway network on November 17, Azertag news
agency reported.
The representatives of the diplomatic missions of the countries in
Tehran traveled to the Iranian cities of Qazvin and Rasht in order
to observe the construction project of the railway network, which
lies on the North-South international transport corridor.
The diplomats also visited the bridge crossing over the lake Manjil
in the northern province of Gilan.
The delegation then headed to the office of the contractor company,
Iran Asten, to be briefed on the details of the project.
Greeting the participants, Governor of Gilan Province Mohammadali Najafi stressed on the importance of the new railway, and the transit opportunities and the prospects of economic development which the railway promises to the countries using the trunk-railway.
Najafi also said Qazvin-Rasht-Astara (Iran)-Astara (Azerbaijan) railway will present new economic opportunities to Azerbaijan.
He said the realization of this project will be of great importance for the two countries, as well as the whole region.
Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Tehran Javanshir Akhundov also underlined the importance of Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway for the expansion of bilateral ties between Tehran and Baku.
He said Azerbaijan makes serious efforts for the realization of this project.
Akhundov said that construction of Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway will link Iran's railway system to Russia via Azerbaijan.
He said the three countries - Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia - have trilateral contract for construction and completion of the railway system.
He expressed hope that this railway network will be completed soon and be utilized in order to help the two countries to benefit from the advantages of connecting their railways.
A delegation from Azerbaijan's Transport Ministry and representatives of Azerbaijani embassy in Iran will take part in the second meeting of the working group on the "North-South" railway project, to be held in the Iranian port city of Anzali, on November 18.
The Astara-Qazvin-Rasht railway is 205 kilometers in length. The length of the Qazvin-Rasht railway section is 164 kilometers.
Eighty-two bridges with total length of nine kilometers and 53 tunnels with a total length of 22 kilometers are projected to be built within the framework of Astara-Qazvin-Rasht railway project.
The creation of a 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 motivation for the expansion of foreign economic relations of these region's states with European countries.