Armenia tries to attract private investors into construction of Armenia- Iran railway link
YEREVAN, November 7. /ARKA/. Armenia’s transport, communication and information technology minister Vahan Martirosyan said today the government plans to attract private investors into the construction of a railway linking Armenia and Iran. Speaking in parliament during a discussion on the next year’s draft budget the minister said the government does not have money to build such a road.
‘So we are holding meetings with the private sector trying to present to them the investment attractiveness of this project", - Martirosyan said.
According to him, one of the advantages of the Iran-Armenia railway as opposed to a railway linking Iran with Azerbaijan is that the road through the territory of Armenia will be shorter and more cost-effective.
The agreement on the construction of the rail link was approved by Armenian and Iranian governments in 2009. In 2012, the Dubai-based Rasia FZE Investment Company was granted a 50-year concession by the Armenian government to build and manage the 305-kilometer railway from Armenia to Iran, to be named the Southern Armenian Railway (SAR).
By late 2013 Rasia FZE developed a feasibility study for the project, estimated to cost $3.5 billion. The high cost is explained by mountainous terrain through which it is supposed to pass. Specifically, the 305 km-long railway will have 19.6 km-long 64 bridges and 60 tunnels of 102.3 kilometers.
The railway is to run from Gagarin station in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province to Agarak in southern Syunik and may transport up to 25 million cargos a year.
According to an Armenian government statement, the Southern Armenia Railway will create the shortest transportation route from the ports of the Black Sea to the ports of the Persian Gulf and establish a major commodities transit corridor between Europe and the Persian Gulf region.” .-0-
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17:39 11/07/2016