Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

India, Russia, Iran to sign north-south corridor agreement

India, Russia and Iran are to sign an agreement on Tuesday to operationalise the North-South Transport Corridor linking India with Western Europe and Central Asia via Iranian and Russian territories.

Shipping and transport ministers of the three nations, who have already ratified the NSTC agreement signed by them in September 2000 are expected to formally announce the agreement in St Petersburg, Russia on Tuesday and adopt a statute of International North-South Transport Corridor Coordination Council for the development and operation of this route.

The first experimental movement of containers on this route -- Mumbai-Bandar Abbas (Iranian port in the Gulf)-Anzali (Iranian port on Caspian Sea)-Astrakhan (Russian port Olya on Caspian)-Moscow was carried out in January 2000.

With full infrastructural development, NSTC would be able to compete with Suez Canal as the route is shorter by 10-12 days and cheaper by 20-25 per cent, Union Shipping Minister Ved Prakash Goyal told reporters in Moscow.

He said the Shipping Corporation of India is working on the Rs 30 billion project for the expansion of Cochin port for transhipment via NTSC, while Iran and Russia have to attract funds for development of infrastructure.

Goyal said the Indian government would encourage private investments in the infrastructural development of the transport corridor in the Iranian and Russian segments, since it would help in tapping immense energy resources of Central Asia.

ALSO READ:
The Rediff Budget Special
Money

Tell us what you think of this report