Kheirollah Khademi made the comments on the sidelines of the Russian delegation's visit to the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, declaring the railway line "a revolution in international and regional transit."
"With the completion of this part of the North-South corridor, there will be a change in terms of goods and cargo trade in the east and west, and it can be an attractive, economical and completely safe route for shipments of goods movement compared to the existing route," Khademi said.
The Iranian economic official said that the necessary budget needed for the projects amounts to 20 trillion tomans which will be allocated in the next three years, according to the plans.
The deputy road minister said that the length of the Rasht-Astara railway is 164 km, adding that "the implementation operation of 12 km from the Astara and 10 km from the Rasht has already started, and if part of the necessary budget is earmarked, we hope that the other parts will become operational before the end of the year."
Khademi, who is also CEO of the Iranian Construction and Development Company, said about the other railway, Rasht-Caspian railway, as the first part of the North-South rail corridor, "the operational stage of this part of the project is also being implemented. 15 kilometers of the rail has been laid and we hope that after the approval of the president's visit to Gilan province and the allocation of a part of these funds, this railway will be completed by the coming spring of the next Iranian next year."
MNA/5687111