ArmInfo. In addition to the economic development of Iran and Russia, the revitalization of the North-South international transport corridor will also benefit other countries in the region, in particular China and India. Said Mohammad, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Free and Special Economic Zones of Iran, said this. A meeting on the activation of the North-South ITC with the participation of the Iranian and Russian authorities was held in Tehran on Wednesday.
The parties at this meeting discussed ways to accelerate the launch of the North-South international transport corridor and to attract investment in the Caspian port.
Pointing to the common goals of Iran and Russia in the areas of economy and security, Mohammad said that the countries can accelerate bilateral cooperation in the implementation of this project. "By launching this corridor, we will see a reduction in costs, an increase in the quality of transportation, a reduction in time, as well as strategic aspects," he said, IRNA reports.
The governments of Iran and Russia are determined to develop economic cooperation and activate the North-South corridor, and they have been actively cooperating in the Anzali free zone over the past four years.
The North-South international transport corridor is designed to provide transport links between the Baltic States and India through Iran. The main advantages of the North-South transport corridor over other routes (in particular, over the sea route through the Suez Canal) are called: a twofold or more reduction in the distance of transportation, as well as a decrease in the cost of transporting containers in comparison with the cost of transportation by sea.
To recal, on April 14, 2015, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and the Armenian government signed an agreement on an investment loan from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development in the amount of $ 150 million to finance the construction of the southern section of the North-South road corridor (Tranche-4). The initial timing of the project was delayed and changes were made to the agreement, both in terms of the timing of the project and in terms of loan repayment.
To note, the North-South project will reduce the distance from the Iranian border to the Georgian border from 556 to 490 kilometers.
The road will significantly facilitate access to the Black Sea not only for Armenia, but also for Iran. The project is initially funded with a loan from the Asian Development Bank. A corresponding agreement with ADB on the provision of half a billion dollars was signed by the Armenian government in September 2009. Subsequently, the EFSD joined the project, agreeing to provide $ 150 million.
It was envisaged that the construction of the highway would be completed first in 2016, then in 2019, but to date, only a part of the work has been completed and the terms of the project have been postponed again by 5-10 years. In general, according to various estimates, the project is estimated at $ 2 billion, although initially it was planned to allocate only $ 980 million for its implementation.
As expected by the Armenian authorities, the program will allow the country in the future to mitigate the consequences of the blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey, play the role of a transit state in the cargo transportation of the countries of the region, and also join the Black Sea Ring Highway. Last year, the project was temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
