SECOND TRIPARTITE MEETING OF IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT’S WORKING GROUP HELD

Noyan Tapan
Jan 27, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. The second tripartite (Armenia,
Russia, Iran) meeting of the working group of the Iran-Armenia
railway construction project took place in Yerevan on January 27. NT
correspondent was informed by spokeswoman for the RA minister
of transport and communication Susanna Tonoyan that the Armenian
side was represented at the meeting by First Deputy Minister of
Transport and Communication Hrant Beglarian, the Russian side –
by Director of the Department of State Policy on Railway Transport
of the RF Ministry of Transport Sergei Tugarinov and representatives
of Russian Railways company, and Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads and
Transport Communication Majid Asadi participated in the meeting from
the Iranian side.

H. Beglarian said at the meeting that the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
has already provided a one million dollar grant for a feasibility
study on the railway project. An international tender for a company
to do this work will be announced in April. The feasibility study
will begin after finalizing the tender results. ilF company (Austria)
has already carried out preliminary work of the Iran-Armenian railway
project’s feasibility study. As for the project’s financing, H.

Beglarian said that negotiations are currently being conducted with
ADB and the World Bank.

According to M. Asadi, they have completed the feasibility study on
the Iran-Armenia railway’s 60-km section to be built in the territory
of Iran. He said that in case of construction of this railway,
the Iranian side is prepared to build the Iranian section with its
financial resources.

S. Tugarinov spoke about the technical standards of the railway,
the transit opportunities, and the integration of this project with
the existing international transport corridors. He underlined that
the Russian side can express its assessment of the project only after
the feasibility study has been completed.

The next meeting of the working group will be held in Yerevan, after
the completion of the feasibility study on the Iran-Armenia railway.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress