MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. The International North-South Transport Corridor could evolve into one of the main routes for moving freight across Eurasia, providing an alternative to the Suez Canal, Russian government-controlled lender VTB said in a statement.

"We estimate that the International North-South Transport Corridor can become one of the main transportation routes of Eurasia, providing an alternative to the Suez Canal, among other things, and opening up new economic opportunities for trade relations between the countries of the Global South," the statement said.

VTB is ready to bear the costs of conducting a feasibility study for the project, so that to present it to Russian and international investors afterward.

The Russian government earlier approved VTB's proposal to establish a project management office for the development of the corridor. The office will collect and analyze information about the International North-South Transport Corridor, where it pertains to the investment project for the construction of a 1,520 mm gauge railway to Iranian ports, and put together proposals to ensure uninterrupted freight traffic along the corridor's rail route.