Azerbaijan, Iran discuss transportation and border crossing

On Friday, the Iranian city of Astara hosted a joint meeting of Azerbaijani and Iranian delegations on issues of cargo transportation and border crossing, Trend reports.

The parties stated the need to increase cooperation for simplifying the border crossing, the exchange of goods and the passengers' entry and exit.

At the meeting the parties agreed on the construction of two bridges, including a railway bridge, on the border of Azerbaijan and Iran, close to the existing road bridge.

Azerbaijani and Iranian representatives also agreed that the transport ministers of both countries should meet in the coming days and sign a final agreement on this issue.

Construction of the railway bridge is necessary for the "North-South" railway transport corridor project that is jointly implemented by Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran. The parties have already set a joint venture to carry out this project.

About 400 kilometers of railway must be built in Iran on the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara route within North-South railway corridor. Also, 8.5 km of railway, border station for changing train wheels and other border infrastructure must be built in Azerbaijan.

During the first years the volume of freight transportation via the railway is projected at six million tons a year, with a subsequent increase in the volume of freight to 20 million tons per year.