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Russia + Iran agree to build Rasht-Astara railway: Iran and Russia have signed an agreement to construct the Rasht-Astara railway, according to an Iranian Roads and Urban Development Ministry statement. The construction of this railway will complete the 7.2k-km International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which is a network of ship, rail, and road routes connecting South Asia to Europe.
The details: Russia will invest EUR 1.6 bn in the Rasht-Astara railway, which should be complete in four years, according to the statement. The INSTC, which links Russia, India, Iran, and Azerbaijan, had a missing link of 162 km between Rasht in Iran and Astara in Azerbaijan. Negotiations on bridging this gap began two decades ago, but had been delayed for undisclosed reasons, according to the Iranian Roads and Urban Development Ministry.
An artery to rival the Suez Canal? “This unique North-South transport artery, the Rasht-Astara railway, will become a part of, and will help to significantly diversify, global [cargo] traffic flows. Transportation along the new corridor will offer significant competitive advantages,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said, according to Russian news agency TASS. Delivery time for goods transported from Saint Petersburg to Mumbai will be slashed from 30-45 days using traditional routes to just 10 days through the new corridor, Putin is cited as saying. “There is a significant savings in terms of time and costs,” the Kremlin noted.
And potentially a boon for food security: The new route will be used, in particular, for the transportation of foodstuffs and other agribusiness products intended for consumers in Iran and in the Persian Gulf and Africa, Putin added.
Part of Iran’s push to strengthen its position in global trade networks: Iran has been making efforts to bolster its trade capabilities, including through construction of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway with Iraq and the Chabahar-Zahedan railway connecting the Gulf of Oman to Europe. Iran has for decades been placed under severe sanctions by the West, crippling both its trade and economy.
