MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Russia is studying the possibility of locating a port logistics hub on the east coast of Africa as part of the North-South corridor, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said during a meeting of President Vladimir Putin with members of the government.

"We are studying the prospects for locating a Russian port logistics hub and a cargo base on the east coast of Africa as part of the North-South corridor," he said.

An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the multimodal transport corridor North-South was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000. Later, the number of participants rose to 14. The project is aimed at attracting transit of cargo flows from India, Iran and the Persian Gulf countries through Russian territory to Europe. Compared to the sea route through the Suez Canal, the distance is more than halved, which reduces the time and cost of transportation. Now the project combines several different transport systems of individual states.