Zawya
June 21 2009

$1m ADB Loan for Railroad

21 June 2009

Yerevan and Asian Development Bank discussed cooperation in the
establishment of Iran-Armenia railroad.

According to Moj News Agency, Asian Development Bank is to loan
Armenia $1 million for the establishment of the railroad, which will
link the Central Asian country to Iran, Armanian Transportation
Minister Gurgen Sargsyan said.

"Armenia and ADB will sign the contract in the near future," he added.

Sargsyan said once the Iran-Armenia railroad is established, the ports
of Central Asia, Russia and Persian Gulf will be linked to the ports
of Black Sea.

He said the railroad is the Armenian government’s top priority, as the
crucial communication route will provide landlocked and
border-restricted Armenia with a link to the outside world.

The establishment of the 470-Km railroad will cost $2 billion and take
5 years for completion.

The agreement on the railroad was signed by the Iranian and Armenian
presidents a few months ago.

Russia has also announced readiness to participate in the
project. Another agreement envisages the construction of two large
hydroelectric plants on River Aras on the Armenian-Iranian border.

Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said they will be built by
Iranian companies and that Armenia will finance its share of the $240
million project with electricity supplies to Iran.

The two sides also formally agreed to start building a 300-kilometer
pipeline to deliver gasoline and diesel from an oil refinery in
northern Iran to Armenia.

© Iran Daily 2009