TEHRAN, May 16 (MNA) – The Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development says he has held talks with his Armenian counterpart on developing transporting cooperation between the two countries as part of the north-south transit corridor (INSTC).
At the end of the talks between the Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi with the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, the Iranian minister stated that Iran and Armenia’s geographical locations could be used as transit road route from east to west and north to south if there is serious cooperation between the two countries.
Ghasemi said that there is not a lot of transportation cooperation between Iran and Armenia in the current situation, but the construction of a new route between the two countries will be a step toward achieving high-level transportation cooperation.
He said that there are currently restrictions on the movement of Iranian trucks on the Armenian side of the border, adding, “We are trying to use Iranian companies to widen this route and standardize it.”
The Iranian minister also said, “We can deliver the goods needed by Armenia from the port of [Iranian] Shahid Rajaei [in the south] to Julfa [on the Iranian side of the border with Armenian] by rail and from there to Armenia.”
Ghasemi announced that the Armenian infrastructure minister will visit the Tehran-North freeway in Iran and the 6.5-kilometer bridge built on this route which connects and shortens the road between the Iranian capital with the northern provinces.
As regards linking the Iranian Chabahar port to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), the Iranian minister said, “The construction of the port itself has been physically completed and we have signed an agreement with the Indians regarding the transfer of equipment to the port and operationalizing it, but there are still some disputes between the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization and the Indians that we are resolving.”
Regarding the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, Ghasemi said, “In recent years, the [Iranian] National Development Fund has provided resources for the construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway, but with this amount, the project will not be completed. We are looking to provide more budget for the Chabahar-Zahedan railway from other sources.”
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