Azerbaijan has expressed interest in investing in the construction of a freight terminal at an under-construction rail station in the Iranian city of Astara, as part of the North-South Transport Corridor, a high-ranking Iranian railway official said. Deputy Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company for Operation Affairs Hossein Ashouri told Trend News Agency that Azerbaijan announced its readiness to invest in the freight terminal to be constructed on 10 hectares of land in the Iranian city.
The official added that the announcement was made during a meeting between Iranian and Azerbaijani officials over the past week to discuss the construction of Astara (Iran)-Astara (Azerbaijan) railroad — a small segment of the North-South Transport Corridor.
Noting that the railway segment is projected to become operational in the next three months, he added that the freight terminal will facilitate loading and offloading operations of industrial goods and metals as well as cereals.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing three-day meeting of Azerbaijan-Iran Intergovernmental Commission in Baku, the official noted that the Astara-Astara railroad segment will ease transportation of goods between Russia and India.
Azerbaijan has already completed the 8.5-kilometer section of the project on its territory. The Iranian side extends for 2.5 kilometers. Iranian officials are currently seeking to meet their commitment on the construction of the railway segment connecting the two countries via a Astara border bridge.
