TEHRAN- Iran will inaugurate 530 kilometers of railroads by the end of the present Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2019), Deputy Transport Minister Kheirollah Khademi announced.

The official, who is also the managing director of Iran’s Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC), mentioned completion of building 1,000 kilometers of railroads to connect five centers of provinces to the national railway network as one of the major development measures taken over the recent years, IRIB reported on Tuesday.

In late June, Khademi announced that over 3,410 kilometers of railways are under construction throughout Iran, adding that construction of 5,000 kilometers of railways is also under study.

CDTIC managed to build 516 kilometers of railroads in the country during the past Iranian calendar year, he said.

He further informed that 10 railway stations were inaugurated in the country during the past year.

The official put the cost of constructing those stations at over 350 billion rials (about $8.33 million).

Attraction of foreign investment and technology to the projects for development of Iranian railway is one of the objectives of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI).

In late May, Maziyar Yazdani, the deputy head of RAI for infrastructure and technical affairs, said that none of the European companies that are cooperating with Iran in railway infrastructure projects have so far reacted to the U.S. decision for leaving the nuclear deal and they are still continuing their cooperation with the RAI.

“We have replacements for all foreign companies in case of withdrawal under pressures from the U.S. sanctions”, he added.

MA/MA