Int'l Conference of Central-South Asian Rail Freight Corridor Opens
February 21, 1999 - 0:0
TEHRAN The international conference of rail freight corridor between Central and South Asian countries was inaugurated here on Saturday. Deputy Roads and Transportation Minister Rahman Dadman told the two-day session that economic development of Asian countries depends on expansion of relations at regional level and that establishment of transportation infrastructures serve as basic pillars of economic growth, especially in the Central Asian republics.
Dadman said that speedy laying of rail tracks, pipelines for transfer of oil and gas and expansion of ports are necessary for economic development. He said that operations are underway to build Amirabad Port on the Caspian Sea coast and link it to the nationwide railways and also to build Bafq-Mashhad and Kerman-Zahedan railways. He cited insufficient financial resources as the reason for slow pace of operations to lay Kerman-Zahedan railway and called on members of the Paris-based International Union of Railways (UIC) to contribute to implementation of the project.
The Iranian official said that implementation of the project will materialize the old plan on south corridor in Southern Asia while serving as a suitable bridge between South and Central Asia and easing transactions at the regional level free of any political unrest. He said that promotion of transportation facilities will guarantee long term relations and expand cooperation among regional states.
He added that although Iran's railway network was connected with open seas via Imam Khomeini port on the Persian Gulf but Iran decided to build Bafq-Bandar Abbas railway in order to connect Bandar Abass on the starit of Hormuz to the railway network with an aim to raise cargo transportation capacity. He said that connection of Bandar Abbas with Iranian state railway made linkage of Central Asian railways with Europe and the open seas possible.
To reduce time required for travel between southern port city of Bandar Abbas (Hormuzgan province) and Sarakhs (northeast of Iran) there are plans to make Tehran-Mashhad (Khorasan province) road two-lane, build 252 kms of railway between Badoroud and Meybod, make Tehran-Qom railtrack two-lane and improve Qazvin-Mianeh axis, he added. Connetion of Kerman railway with Zahedan (Sistan Baluchestan province) will reduce distance between European and South Asian railways, ease transit of cargo from Indian Peninsula to Mianmar (Burma) and from there to Central Asia and Europe and vice versa, Dadman said.
He said that operations have been launched to build Bafq-Mashhad railway to cut short the distance for transit of cargo from central asia and link important iron ore and coal mines with nationwide railway. He added that opening of the railway track will shorten the distance by 950 kms and insure low transportation costs. Concluding his remarks, Dadman said that his organization is ready to form joint railway building companies.
Another speaker, Head of the Special Group of Corridor and Head of Indian Railway (IR) managerial board V.K. Agarwal referred to increase in volume of European states' transactions with Southeast Asian nations and called for speedy link of Southeast Asian railway with that of Europe with an aim of raising share of European-made goods in Southeast Asian markets. Agarwal said that containers are transported via railways since long ago in Europe and Asians are required to follow the same method.
Establishment of suitable marketing agencies, reduction in tariffs, implication of new customs methods and conclusion of proper contracts among regional states are among factors which will guarantee successful establishment of corridors in Asia, he added. He said that reduction of tariffs and establishment of the corridors will reduce container transportation cost through railways by 20 percent thus raising government's revenues. Executive director of UIC Philippe Roumeguere said for his part that establishment of corridors in accordance with global standards in asia requires definition of suitable legal and trade tools and transparency in infrastructural activities.
Secretary General of the UIC and representatives of international transportation companies in India, Bangladesh, Syria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Turkey, Greece and Sweden are attending the session. Moreover, the session of the Middle East railways is to be held concurrent with the session of global corridors. Representatives of Iranian, Syrian and Turkish railways as well as the UIC officials are to attend the Middle East railways session.
Dadman said that speedy laying of rail tracks, pipelines for transfer of oil and gas and expansion of ports are necessary for economic development. He said that operations are underway to build Amirabad Port on the Caspian Sea coast and link it to the nationwide railways and also to build Bafq-Mashhad and Kerman-Zahedan railways. He cited insufficient financial resources as the reason for slow pace of operations to lay Kerman-Zahedan railway and called on members of the Paris-based International Union of Railways (UIC) to contribute to implementation of the project.
The Iranian official said that implementation of the project will materialize the old plan on south corridor in Southern Asia while serving as a suitable bridge between South and Central Asia and easing transactions at the regional level free of any political unrest. He said that promotion of transportation facilities will guarantee long term relations and expand cooperation among regional states.
He added that although Iran's railway network was connected with open seas via Imam Khomeini port on the Persian Gulf but Iran decided to build Bafq-Bandar Abbas railway in order to connect Bandar Abass on the starit of Hormuz to the railway network with an aim to raise cargo transportation capacity. He said that connection of Bandar Abbas with Iranian state railway made linkage of Central Asian railways with Europe and the open seas possible.
To reduce time required for travel between southern port city of Bandar Abbas (Hormuzgan province) and Sarakhs (northeast of Iran) there are plans to make Tehran-Mashhad (Khorasan province) road two-lane, build 252 kms of railway between Badoroud and Meybod, make Tehran-Qom railtrack two-lane and improve Qazvin-Mianeh axis, he added. Connetion of Kerman railway with Zahedan (Sistan Baluchestan province) will reduce distance between European and South Asian railways, ease transit of cargo from Indian Peninsula to Mianmar (Burma) and from there to Central Asia and Europe and vice versa, Dadman said.
He said that operations have been launched to build Bafq-Mashhad railway to cut short the distance for transit of cargo from central asia and link important iron ore and coal mines with nationwide railway. He added that opening of the railway track will shorten the distance by 950 kms and insure low transportation costs. Concluding his remarks, Dadman said that his organization is ready to form joint railway building companies.
Another speaker, Head of the Special Group of Corridor and Head of Indian Railway (IR) managerial board V.K. Agarwal referred to increase in volume of European states' transactions with Southeast Asian nations and called for speedy link of Southeast Asian railway with that of Europe with an aim of raising share of European-made goods in Southeast Asian markets. Agarwal said that containers are transported via railways since long ago in Europe and Asians are required to follow the same method.
Establishment of suitable marketing agencies, reduction in tariffs, implication of new customs methods and conclusion of proper contracts among regional states are among factors which will guarantee successful establishment of corridors in Asia, he added. He said that reduction of tariffs and establishment of the corridors will reduce container transportation cost through railways by 20 percent thus raising government's revenues. Executive director of UIC Philippe Roumeguere said for his part that establishment of corridors in accordance with global standards in asia requires definition of suitable legal and trade tools and transparency in infrastructural activities.
Secretary General of the UIC and representatives of international transportation companies in India, Bangladesh, Syria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Turkey, Greece and Sweden are attending the session. Moreover, the session of the Middle East railways is to be held concurrent with the session of global corridors. Representatives of Iranian, Syrian and Turkish railways as well as the UIC officials are to attend the Middle East railways session.