Overchuk: Russia eyes building 160 km of railway between Azerbaijan border, Iran’s Rasht

Russia is planning the construction of roads, as well as the modernization of railways and checkpoints with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and China for the unhindered movement of cargoes and goods within the North-South corridor, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk told the Rossiya 24 channel, Report informs referring to Russian media.

In addition, he said that Russia plans to build a 160 km railway between the border of Azerbaijan and the Iranian city of Rasht, which will give Russia access to the Iranian ports of the Persian Gulf.

“We are planning the reconstruction of the railway, in fact, the construction of 160 missing kilometers between the border of Azerbaijan and the Iranian city of Rasht. If we complete it, then in fact <...> we will have a railway access to the Iranian ports of the Persian Gulf, and this is already access to India, Pakistan, Africa, Middle East,” Overchuk said.

He added that to date, logistics opportunities between Russia and the West have significantly decreased, but Moscow is putting efforts into projects such as the North-South transport corridor in order to develop eastern logistics routes.