IRAN, ARMENIA SET TO BUILD STRATEGIC RAIL LINK
Moj News Agency
April 16, 2009
Iran
The construction of the 470-kilometer long railway, with 410
kilometers passing through Armenian territory, is expected to
last for at least five years and to cost $1.5-$1.8 billion. "It
is difficult to estimate the cost as the length of the tunnel has
not been determined and the construction of a tunnel is relatively
expensive," the ministers said. Landlocked Armenia, currently under
economic blockade by neighboring Turkey and Azerbaijan, has railway
links with other countries only through Georgia. A memorandum of
understanding on the strategic route was signed Iranian Minister Hamid
Behbahani and his Armenian counterpart Gurgen Sargsyan on April 3. A
working group will take about three months to do a feasibility study,
Behbahani said. The railway connecting the northern Armenian city
of Sevan to the southern city of Meghri, bordering Iran, will ensure
the transportation of energy supplies and other goods, and increase
trade between the two countries.