The Hindu : Transport link with Russia to be opened

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 21, 2002

International

International

Transport link with Russia to be opened

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW MAY 20. The international North-South transport corridor linking India with Iran and Russia will be formally unveiled in St. Petersburg this week. The Transport Ministers of India, Russia and Iran, meeting in Russia's northern capital on May 21-22, will officially announce the entry into force of a 2000 agreement on the transport link and set up a coordination council for the project.

The Indian Shipping Minister, Vedprakash Goyal, who will represent his country at the meeting, said that the new system would be of "very great advantage" to India. "When the project becomes fully operational, it will open up Central Asia — with its energy resources — to India and offer a shorter and cheaper route for Indian exports to the former Soviet Union and Europe," he told presspersons during a stopover in Moscow on Monday.

The container trade route links Cochin and Mumbai with the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, where the goods are put on rails and carried to Anzali, another port on the Caspian Sea. From there, the goods are shipped to Russia and Central Asian States. This cuts the delivery time of cargo from India to Russia by 10 to 15 days and saves 20-25 per cent in shipping costs, compared to the current sea route around Europe.

The project is still in its early stages with just 800 40-feet containers transported in 2001. However, the turnover is rapidly growing and is estimated to touch 8,000 containers in the current year. The Russian Transport Ministry estimates that by 2005 the North-South corridor will handle five million tonnes of goods and the throughput capacity may eventually increase to 20 million.

According to Mr. Goyal, Russia and Iran are to make large investments in the corridor before it really takes off. India is ready to help with the construction of new railways in Iran and Russia and will build additional port terminals in Cochin and Mumbai to handle traffic.

Russian officials said that 16 countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka, had shown interest in the corridor. Russia attaches geopolitical importance to the project. During a recent visit to the Caspian Sea, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, urged the Government to give top priority to the construction of transport infrastructure for the transport link to strengthen Russia's strategic positions in the region.

"The new trade route will help Russia pursue the geopolitical goals of strengthening strategic partnership with India and promoting cooperation with Iran," the Russian Defence Ministry's mouthpiece, Red Star, wrote recently.

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