Transportation of Russian cargo by North-South ITC to almost double by 2030 reaching 32 million tonnes
First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia Kazem Jalali at the Government House of the Russian Federation, according to RF Government’s press release.
Speaking about the further development of relations between the two countries, Andrei Belousov noted: “Without a doubt, there will be challenges along the way that we will overcome thanks to our countries’ will. Construction of the Rasht-Astara railway is one of the key projects of the International North–South Transport Corridor.”
Praising the efforts of the Iranian and Russian leaders to promote the overarching development of bilateral relations, Kazem Jalali spoke about measures taken recently with regard to the banking industry, customs, logistics and the International North–South Transport Corridor. He stressed that, although the transport corridor has western and eastern routes, it is becoming particularly important to focus on developing the fleets and ports of the two countries in the Caspian region in the transport corridor’s middle section.
As Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, said on 1 March 2023, Russian ports on the Caspian Sea are currently able to accept up to 12 million tonnes of cargo from Iran for further transportation by railways to the ports of the Baltic Sea. According to earlier estimates, the flow of Russian cargo across Iran can make from 15 million tonnes to 60 million tonnes by 2035.
North-South international transport corridor (ITC) is a 7,200-kilometre-long transport artery from St Petersburg to ports in Iran and India. North-South ITC has a western and an eastern branch, both running across Iran. The western one foresees cargo transportation by road via Rasht, the eastern one – by railway. The end point in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas from which cargo can be delivered to India by sea. The western branch also crosses Azerbaijan, the eastern one – Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Besides, direct water transportation from Russia to Iran by the Caspian Sea is possible.
Transportation of Russian cargo by North-South ITC is expected to almost double by 2030 reaching 32 million tonnes.