Sadegh: Connecting Chabahar railway to the national network will reduce the cost of transportation

Referring to the capacity of Chabahar port and other southern ports of Iran, the Minister of Roads considered Chabahar's rail connection to the country's rail network as an effective factor in strengthening the diversification of commercial routes and reducing transportation costs.

According to Ambassador Arjan Farzaneh Sadegh, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, at the 14th meeting of the Ministers of Transport of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member countries in Kazakhstan, expressed his gratitude for hosting this country: Due to its privileged geographical location, the ECO region has the capacity to become an integrated network of road, rail and sea routes. A network that can strengthen the connection between Central Asia, West Asia, Caucasus and open waters.

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, referring to the approvals of the 13th meeting of ECO Transport Ministers in Tehran, he emphasized the need to evaluate the extent of implementation of past agreements, identify obstacles and determine operational priorities and said: This meeting should lead to specific, timed and evaluable decisions for the development of regional cooperation.

Referring to the damage caused to Iran's transportation infrastructure during the attacks of the United States and the Zionist regime, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development said: Disruption in any part of the regional transportation network, regardless of where it occurs, can increase the time and cost of moving goods and affect the security of other countries' supply chains.

Sadegh emphasized: Protection of civilian infrastructure, security of communication routes and continuity of transportation and transit flow are common interests of all ECO member countries.

He asked the secretariat of this organization to investigate the effects of security disturbances on regional corridors and provide practical solutions to increase the resilience of the transportation network.

Facilitating road transport and developing rail cooperation

Sadegh considered facilitating the traffic of road fleets and crossing borders as priorities of regional cooperation and emphasized on reducing the stopping time of trucks, simplifying customs formalities, coordinating transport documents and exchanging information between border authorities.

The Minister of Roads and Urban Development, referring to the revival of the Eco train and its successful journey on the route of Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan, considered this experience as a basis for the expansion of rail cooperation between the member countries.

He stated that the damaged bridges on the mentioned railway route were repaired by Iranian engineers within 72 hours and the route was reopened, he emphasized the importance of technical preparation and maintaining the continuity of railway connections in the region

Sadegh also considered the Almaty-Tehran-Istanbul rail connection as an opportunity for the development of regional trade and suggested that the tariff, customs, technical and operational barriers of the railway routes should be investigated and a specific mechanism should be established to coordinate the movement of trains and develop regular and competitive services.

The Minister of Roads and Urban Development listed the access of landlocked countries to open waters as one of the priorities of cooperation in ECO and said: the realization of this goal requires an integrated connection of ports, railway lines, roads and logistics services.

Referring to the capacity of Chabahar port and other southern ports of Iran, he considered connecting Chabahar to the country's rail network as an effective factor in strengthening land and sea transportation links, diversifying trade routes and reducing transportation costs.

Iran's emphasis on joint and scheduled action plan

The Minister of Roads and Urban Development emphasized the necessity of determining the responsibility of the countries and the secretariat in following up on the approvals and presenting a progress report in the next meeting, and noted that the development of transportation and transit in the Eco region, in addition to increasing trade and economic growth, helps to strengthen regional ties and improve the economic resilience of member countries.

Sadegh suggested that the ECO Secretariat, in cooperation with the member states, prepare a comprehensive report on the extent of the implementation of previous approvals and the remaining obstacles, formulate a timed plan to facilitate road transportation, border and customs coordination, and develop rail and multimodal services, and put solutions to protect civilian infrastructure and increase the resilience of corridors on the agenda.