By Trend

Accelerating the construction of a railway terminal in Iran’s Astara County in Gilan Province (northern Iran) is in the spotlight, Director General of the Transit and International Affairs Department of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization (RMTO) Javad Hedayati told Trend.

The Astara railway terminal is located in Iran’s Astara city on an area of 35 hectares, 1.4 km from the Azerbaijan-Iran border.

According to the intergovernmental agreement between Azerbaijan and Iran, the construction of the terminal began in 2017. The Astara railway terminal, built by Azerbaijan Railways, has been leased to Azerbaijan for 25 years.

Despite the ongoing construction of the Astara terminal, several parts of the terminal have already been ready for operation, and from the beginning of 2018, transshipment operations have been carried out there.

Hedayati noted that in order to make the terminal fully operational, consultations are underway to accelerate construction.

"The final decision on the railway terminal is expected to be made at a meeting of the Azerbaijan-Iran Intergovernmental Joint Economic Cooperation Commission in March 2022," he added.

The director general also pointed out that at the same time, Iran and Azerbaijan focus on increasing the transit of goods.

"In this regard, the construction of a new bridge over the Astarachay River was one of the main goals of the visit of the Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi to Azerbaijan," Hedayati said.

According to the director general, during the visit, a protocol was signed and the foundation of the bridge was laid. The bridge will help Iran to increase exports to the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

"Moreover, with the construction of the new bridge, trucks will no longer enter Iran’s Astara city," he said.

Currently, trucks using the existing bridge for cargo transportation enter Iran’s Astara city, causing traffic jams in the city.

On January 25, 2022, the foundation of a new bridge over the Astarachay River on the border of Azerbaijan-Iran was laid. The construction of the 89-meter-long and 30-meter-wide bridge is expected to be completed by the end of the year.