Iran announced acceleration of launch of "North-South" ITC 

ArmInfo. In addition to the economic development of Iran and Russia, the revitalization of the North-South international transport corridor will also benefit  other countries in the region, in particular China and India. Said  Mohammad, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Free and Special  Economic Zones of Iran, said this.  A meeting on the activation of  the North-South ITC with the participation of the Iranian and Russian  authorities was held in Tehran on Wednesday.

The parties at this meeting discussed ways to accelerate the launch of the North-South  international transport corridor and to attract investment in the  Caspian port.

Pointing to the common goals of Iran and Russia in the areas of  economy and security, Mohammad said that the countries can accelerate  bilateral cooperation in the implementation of this project. "By  launching this corridor, we will see a reduction in costs, an  increase in the quality of transportation, a reduction in time, as  well as strategic aspects," he said, IRNA reports.

The governments of Iran and Russia are determined to develop economic  cooperation and activate the North-South corridor, and they have been  actively cooperating in the Anzali free zone over the past four  years.

The North-South international transport corridor is designed to  provide transport links between the Baltic States and India through  Iran. The main advantages of the North-South transport corridor over  other routes (in particular, over the sea route through the Suez  Canal) are called: a twofold or more reduction in the distance of  transportation, as well as a decrease in the cost of transporting  containers in comparison with the cost of transportation by sea.

To recal, on April 14, 2015, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and  the Armenian government signed an agreement on an investment loan  from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development in the  amount of $ 150 million to finance the construction of the southern  section of the North-South road corridor (Tranche-4). The initial  timing of the project was delayed and changes were made to the  agreement, both in terms of the timing of the project and in terms of  loan repayment.

To note, the North-South project will reduce the distance from the  Iranian border to the Georgian border from 556 to 490 kilometers.

The road will significantly facilitate access to the Black Sea not  only for Armenia, but also for Iran. The project is initially funded  with a loan from the Asian Development Bank. A corresponding  agreement with ADB on the provision of half a billion dollars was  signed by the Armenian government in September 2009.  Subsequently,  the EFSD joined the project, agreeing to provide $ 150 million.

It was envisaged that the construction of the highway would be  completed first in 2016, then in 2019, but to date, only a part of  the work has been completed and the terms of the project have been  postponed again by 5-10 years. In general, according to various  estimates, the project is estimated at $ 2 billion, although  initially it was planned to allocate only $ 980 million for its  implementation.

As expected by the Armenian authorities, the program will allow the  country in the future to mitigate the consequences of the blockade by  Azerbaijan and Turkey, play the role of a transit state in the cargo  transportation of the countries of the region, and also join the  Black Sea Ring Highway.  Last year, the project was temporarily  suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.