Iran-Turkmen-Kazakh railroad is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2014, a senior government official said.
“Once the project is finished, it will have the capacity to transport 10 million tons of cargo per year,” ILNA quoted Iranian Vice President for Executive Affairs, Mohammad Shariatmadari, as saying.
He added that the inauguration ceremony will be attended by Iranian, Turkmen and Kazakh presidents. However, no date is yet specified for that.
He further said that development of the railroad and transit lines is among the government priorities.
The Iran-Turkmen-Kazakh railroad is known as the North-South Transnational Corridor.
The corridor is a 677 km-long railroad connecting the two Central Asian countries to Iran, moving down south then to be linked to the Persian Gulf.
An intergovernmental agreement on the project was signed in 2007 by presidents of the three countries.
The project will open access to the Persian Gulf and Central Asia for countries in Asia and Europe. Similar opportunities will also appear for the transit of goods from countries in Southeast and South Asia, the Indian Ocean littoral states to Eastern and Northern Europe via Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia.
This path is several times shorter than passing through the Suez Canal. The railway will play an important role in connecting the Caspian Sea and the Northern Territory - from the border with Kazakhstan to Bereket.
