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Iran, Russia to sign deal on construction of Rasht-Astara railway within month

According to Houshang Bazvand, the Iranian side has accepted about 70% of Russian proposals for the design and construction of the railroad

TEHRAN, December 17. /TASS/. An Iranian delegation will pay a visit to Russia to sign a contract on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section, Houshang Bazvand, head of the Iranian Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company, said.

"In less than a month an Iranian delegation is expected to be sent to Russia to finalize the contract and after that the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section will actually begin," he said at a press conference.

According to Bazvand, the Iranian side has accepted about 70% of Russian proposals for the design and construction of the railroad. The Khatam al-Anbiya construction company, which is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite units of the Iranian Armed Forces), was selected as the general contractor, he added.

In 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor project to jointly build the 160-kilometer Rasht-Astara railroad segment, which is designed to provide through access to Persian Gulf ports. The total construction cost is estimated at 1.6 billion euro. Moscow and Tehran will jointly finance the design, construction and supply of goods and services.

On December 12, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that Iranian authorities had already purchased more than 100 kilometers of the 160-kilometer Rasht-Astara railroad section between the Islamic Republic and Azerbaijan for construction, hoping to complete the process by March 2026.

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