TEHRAN, May 17. /TASS/. The Rasht-Astara railroad section in Iran will be constructed jointly with Russia, according to an agreement signed on Wednesday by the two countries’ representatives, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev and Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi participated in the signing ceremony. Putin joined the ceremony via video link. From the Russian side Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak who is paying a working visit to Iran, also joined the ceremony.

Moscow and Tehran will jointly finance designing, construction, as well as supplies of goods and services, according to the document. Some 170 km long, the Rasht-Astara line is designed to link land sections of the International North-South Transport Corridor, which will boost the economic efficiency of the trans-Caspian route. It is planned that the Rasht-Astara line will be built by Moscow and Tehran, while the Astara (Iranian city) - Astara (Azerbaijani city) line will be constructed by Moscow, Tehran, and Baku.

Putin noted earlier that the project is interesting not only to Russia and Iran, but also to all participants of global trade as from the viewpoint of logistics this will be a considerable addition to the Suez Canal and Black Sea straits.

First Deputy Managing Director of Russian Railways Sergey Pavlov said in March that the construction was estimated at around $1.6 bln. According to the Iranian side’s design decisions, the construction of the Rasht-Astara section will take four years, though Pavlov did not rule out the possibility of the term’s reduction.