ASHGABAT, May 22. /TASS/. Several priority projects within the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) have been completed, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced at a restricted meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government.
"A number of priority projects as part of the development of the international North-South corridor have been completed," Mishustin said.
Specifically, checkpoints along its western route have been reconstructed, and dredging works on the Volga-Caspian Canal have been carried out, the prime minister noted.
"Now we must complete the construction of critical road bypasses around major cities," he added.
An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the 7,200-km multimodal North-South transport corridor was signed by Russia, India, and Iran in 2000. The number of participants later rose to 14. The project is aimed at attracting transit cargo flows from India, Iran, and Persian Gulf countries through Russian territory to Europe. Currently, the project integrates various transport systems of the participating nations.