Russia invests heavily in Iranian projects — EADaily, July 26, 2022 — Politics, Russia News
Moscow may allocate $1.5 billion for the development of the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC), linking Russia with India via Iran.
According to Vedomosti, citing a presentation by the Ministry of Transport and a source, Russian Railways is taking part in the construction of a line from the city of Astara in Azerbaijan to the city of Rasht in Iran (164 km) and the electrification of the Germsar-Inche-Burun line (495 km) in Iran.
It is known that at present, cargo between Astara and Rasht is transported by road, which supports the development of the route.
The construction line is estimated at two billion dollars, five years ago the first 500 million US dollars.
The probability of the probable probability of the ITC will be 30 million tons of cargo per year, in 2020 6.3 million passed through the Russian part. The presentation of the Ministry of Transport indicated that the construction of the line in Iran can increase the traffic in this modification by 3-10 million tons per year.
The delivery time of goods from Mumbai to St. Petersburg will be reduced to 15-24 days, while the route through the Suet Canal assumes a period of 30-45 days.
According to Lenta.ru, a significant share of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin during his visit to Iran, he confirmed his interest in building a branch line from Astara to Rasht.
Research Fellow, Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, IMI MGIMO Adlan Margoev the premise that in the context of geopolitical confrontation with the West, Moscow’s interest in the project will grow.
Previously, the Russian company avoided cooperation in order not to be arrested, but “now they have nothing to lose.”