President: Second railway line to Iran will open after opening of Zangezur corridor
President: Second railway line to Iran will open after opening of Zangezur corridor
Zangezur corridor will be a branch of the East-West transport corridor, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Azerbaijan Television in Nakhchivan, Olaylar informs.
He said the significance of this route will extend not only to Azerbaijan, but to a broader geography as well: "At the same time, it will be a branch of the North-South transport corridor. Because today, when we talk about the North-South transport corridor, usually the Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran route-that is, the border crossing to Astara, the Astara-Rasht project on Iranian territory-is implied."
The head of state noted that this project is ready on Azerbaijani territory.
"However, after the opening of the Zangezur corridor, a second railway line from Azerbaijan to Iran will open. Entering Nakhchivan precisely through the Zangezur corridor, there is a railway to Iran from the Julfa railway hub. So, this project could materialize even sooner. The North-South transport corridor is directed toward the Persian Gulf. From there, it can extend to regions further afield, for instance, Pakistan. In short, this will be a crucial transport project, and Nakhchivan stands at its center," he noted.
President Aliyev noted that this factor also plays a vital role. "Of course, the transportation of, say, 15 million tons or perhaps more of cargo through here will lead to much greater activity. More jobs will be created, economic activity will increase, and I can say that Nakhchivan will turn into an indispensable transport hub. This is entirely possible. We all know very well-we have spoken about this many times-that our country has no direct access to open seas or oceans. Yet today, when the implementation of Eurasian transport corridors is discussed, it is impossible to bypass us or circumvent us. Nakhchivan will have the exact same future, and of course, this will bring us both economic and other dividends."