TEHRAN, December 23. /TASS/. During its working visit to Tehran, the Russian delegation discussed with the Iranian authorities four points for the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev told reporters following the delegation’s visit to Iran.
"We have just discussed four points. I would not like to name them. We have taken on commitments on both sides to implement them. In particular, the Iranian side has taken on commitments to provide a land buyout schedule. For us, land was the most sensitive issue in our negotiations," he said.
"We have a lot of experience on the Russian side in implementing infrastructure projects, and we understand that without the full buyout of land, as stipulated in our joint agreement with Iran, the price of land may increase sharply. Now the question which remains is to implement these decisions," Savelyev said.
On May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement on the joint construction of the Rasht-Astara railroad. This line will connect the overland sections of the North-South international transportation corridor and increase the economic efficiency of the trans-Caspian route. Moscow has agreed to provide Tehran with an interstate loan of 1.3 billion euros for the project. The total cost of construction is estimated at 1.6 billion euros.