Deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Kheirollah Khademi said on Wednesday that some €800 million is required for the completion of Rasht-Astara railway, while noting that Iran will not wait for Russia and China to provide the needed finance.
Rasht-Astara railway is considered as one of the final stages of completing a highly strategic International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC).
Noting that Rasht-Astara railway is Iran’s high priority rail project, Khademi said that Iran is not merely waiting for finance from Russia or China to complete the railway and is also considering other ways of providing finance.
He said that the Ministry of Road and Urban Development has carried out the technical assessments and finished engineering studies and has sent the results for operators that have signaled readiness for executing the project.
“As soon as the finance is provided, we will start the executive operation,” the official said.
Russia has not offered its financial proposal yet, Khademi said, adding that Iran is waiting for Russia to announce its proposed price and so say whether it will provide needed finance in the form of a loan or would prefer its private sector to complete the project and operate it.
“If the Russians make a good offer, we will accept it, but if the Russians do not make an offer or have an offer that is not acceptable to us, we will start this project with internal resources.”
“We have no executive difficulty for carrying out this project and the country’s executive power is much higher,” the official said, referring for instance to Tehran-North project and Chabahar railway project which he said are much more complicated and are being carried out by domestic engineers. “We have no executive problem and are only facing some financial problems.”