The construction of the new road bridge over Astarachay River on the border between Iran and Azerbaijan is estimated to cost $4.8 million, says the deputy head of the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company, a subsidiary of Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
“Based on an agreement between Tehran and Baku, each side will have a 50% share in construction expenses. During the recent visit of the Iranian roads minister [Rostam Qasemi] to Azerbaijan, a ground-breaking ceremony was held to mark the launch of the project,” Mohammad Reza Kadkhodazadeh was also quoted as saying by News.mrud.ir.
The official added that Astarachay Bridge is designed to be 100 meters long and 31 meters wide and the project is estimated to take 18 to 24 months.
“This border bridge can help immensely in completing the International North-South Transportation Corridor and increasing our transit routes, which will in turn earn us considerable income,” he said.
“The bridge will connect Iran’s Astara County to Azerbaijan’s Astara, making transportation of goods from Iran to Russia, Caucasia and North and East Europe and from Azerbaijan to Central Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, littoral states of the Persian Gulf faster and much more cost-effective."
Qasemi said Iranian goods will reach Moscow in three days once the construction is complete, Mehr News Agency reported.
The agreement for the construction of the bridge was signed by Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rahman Hummatov and Iranian Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Kheirollah Khademi.
"The construction of this bridge was agreed upon by both sides a couple of years ago," said an Iranian official, Hassan Kalhori, adding that the bridge "will contribute to the development of the transport and tourism industries of the two countries".
"Expanding and facilitating transit between Iran and Azerbaijan is another goal of the bridge, which will be built in parallel with the joint railway bridge between the two countries," Kalhori added.
Due to the expiration of the service life and the unsuitability of the existing bridge across the Astarachay River, it became necessary to build a new automobile bridge, Azerbaijan’s Trend News Agency wrote.
Azerbaijan and Iran carry out rail, road and sea trade through Astara, the most important border crossing point between the two countries.
Commenting on the transit through the International North-South Transport Corridor, Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi said thanks to the investment of $65 million by Azerbaijan, Astara railroad is important for transporting goods to Azerbaijan, Russia and other countries.
He noted that a special economic zone has been established in the Astara Port of Iran, and goods are currently being transported through this zone.
"The neighboring Azerbaijan is of special importance to Iran due to its geographical position. Goods are transported to Russia, the Black Sea countries and Georgia through Azerbaijan. For this purpose, Iran has implemented the ‘eTIR Project’ with Azerbaijan. In this regard, after Turkey, Azerbaijan is the second country where Iran is implementing the eTIR Project," he said.
Latifi emphasized that even during the most difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic, all border customs checkpoints of Iran and Azerbaijan were functioning.
"With the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Iran's land border checkpoints with neighboring countries were closed. However, the Astara border checkpoint was never closed and trade between Iran and Azerbaijan continued. Iran's Bileh Savar border checkpoint with Azerbaijan has been operating normally for several months. During the coronavirus pandemic, products were being transported through this checkpoint for some time," he explained.
At present, the situation is normal, Iranian trucks transport goods to Azerbaijan and through Azerbaijan to other countries, following the health protocols.
The first container train sent from Helsinki (Finland) to the Indian port of Nhava Sheva arrived in Iran via Astara border, IRIB News reported on June 30, 2021.
It was a pilot project implemented as a result of close cooperation between rail operators of the countries participating in the International North-South Transport Corridor. Depending on the results of a current pilot plan, block trains will move regularly along the corridor.
INSTC is a major transit route designed to facilitate the transportation of goods from Mumbai in India to Helsinki in Finland, using Iranian ports and railroads, which the Islamic Republic plans to connect to those of Azerbaijan and Russia.
The corridor will connect Iran with Russia’s Baltic ports and give Russia rail connectivity to both the Persian Gulf and the Indian rail network.
This means goods could be carried from Mumbai to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and further to Baku. They could then pass across the Russian border into Astrakhan before proceeding to Moscow and St. Petersburg, before entering Europe.
INSTC would substantially cut travel time for everything from Asian consumer goods to Central Eurasia’s natural resources to advanced European exports.
