Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Kheirollah Khademi highlighted the significance of the railroad that is planned to link Iran’s northwestern city of Tabriz to Armenia.

“Once we connect Tabriz to the Armenian border, Armenia will also construct a highway that would turn into an international corridor,” the deputy minister said.

Linking Tabriz to the common border with Armenia is of great significance for the entire country, Khademi added.

After inauguration of a project to construct a new station along the railroad between the cities of Mianeh and Tabriz, the deputy minister said the railroad network in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan will greatly contribute to an increase in the overall capacity of transit of goods in Iran.

In November, Iran inaugurated a new railroad connecting the northwestern cities of Mianeh and Bostan Abad, which shortens the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

In recent years, the Iranian administration has ramped up efforts to boost the country’s railroad industry.

The agreement on the INSTC project was signed in 2012. Among the signatories and acceding countries are Russia, Iran, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman and Syria. Bulgaria has an observer status in the project.

The INSTC project envisages the construction of transport and infrastructure facilities along the shipping route through India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and North Europe.

The project is aimed at reducing the costs and the time of railroad and maritime deliveries between the countries located along the route.