Baghdad The Iranian Assistant Minister of Roads and Urban Development Khairallah Khademi confirmed that the rail link project between the Shalamjah area (southwest) and Basra Governorate will be carried out through Iranian investments.
Khademi said today, Monday,, according to Fars News Agency, that the railway project will be through Iranian investments, and the importance lies in handing over lands to the investor in order to start construction operations.
He said that the Shalamjah-Basra railway is an international project and will carry a strategic change for Iran in terms of transit and railways, as it connects Iran with the Syrian ports and the Mediterranean Sea and forms an “east-west” corridor to the country.
Khademi, who heads the Company for Building and Developing Infrastructures for Shipping and Transport in Iran (governmental), explained that the project provides the possibility of transporting goods from Pakistan or the Iranian port of Chabahar (southeast) and goods that arrive from China and Central Asia by train to the “Sarakhs” region ( Northeast), to the Syrian ports and the White Sea via the Iraqi railway network. ”
He pointed out that the Iranian Minister of Roads discussed in a meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister some time ago, a memorandum of understanding for the Shalamjah-Basra railway line and presented reports in this regard.
He indicated that, Iran demanded at the meeting to receive lands to lay the railways, and that the Iraqi prime minister confirmed that the issue requires approval by the Council of Ministers and pledged to accelerate the pace of approval and inform Tehran.
Meanwhile, the general manager of the company, Talib Jawad Al-Husseini, confirmed, according to the agency, that the coming days will witness discussion of what was mentioned by signing the Memorandum of Understanding to start implementing work on the railway link between Shalamjah (southwestern Iran) and Basra (southern Iraq).
He added that “the link is of special importance as a strategic vital line,” expressing his hope that “the link will reach the implementation stage in the coming days, after the government announces its approval. ”
Source: National Iraqi News Agency