The importance of the North-South corridor for Armenia, Iran, India and Russia

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, in the face of modern conflicts and global changes, the interest between Internationalization has increased to the North-South project, as Western sanctions have disrupted traditional shipping routes or made them too risky and costly. In this situation, South Caucasus countries take active steps to participate in the North-South Corridor project and gain maximum benefits.

The agreement on the creation of the North-South Corridor in 2000 was signed on September 12 in St. Petersburg (Russia) within the framework of the Second Eurasian Transport Conference by Russia, Iran and India. Then other countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, etc. joined it. Initially, the North-South Transport Corridor was envisioned as an alternative route for shipping cargo from India to Europe and vice versa, which would allow shipping companies to reduce costs and time of shipment. .

The transport corridor starts from the Russian city of St. Petersburg, connecting to North-Eastern Europe, from there via Waterways, roads and railways connect to the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus. Then it extends to the southern ports of Iran and from there it connects to Indian ports through the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. At present, cargo transportation between India and Russia is mainly carried out through the Suez Canal

Use of the corridor allows to reduce the time from 42 days to 16-21 days , that is, it reduces the length of the trip by about two times. Of course, the tariff conditions for transporting cargo through the Suez Canal are of considerable importance.

In the South Caucasus, In the direction of the North-South road corridor, the implementation of reconstruction projects and the construction of infrastructure through the territory of Georgia and Armenia is of particular importance. The North-South transportation corridor highway is very important in Armenia, and in the future, the implementation of projects such as the restart of the Iran-Armenia railway, as well as the transit of Georgia, the renovation and reconstruction of roads and railways.

In particular, the reconstruction of the road section in the northern part of Georgia leading to the Russian Federation, as well as the provision of railway transit in the territory of Abkhazia, is considered. It is also one of the primary routes to establish a connection between Iran’s ports and Poti port in Georgia, which will become a source of freight to Europe.. >

A major transportation hub

The southern part of the north-south road corridor from the northern regions of Iran to the southern ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar It extends from there to the port of Bombay, India by sea. This makes it possible to significantly facilitate the transportation of goods from the countries of the Persian Gulf to the North and vice versa. The shortest route from Iran’s ports to the Black Sea passes through Armenia, which justifies the economic importance of the Armenia-Iran, North-South project.

Of course, other Persian Gulf countries are also interested in the north–south corridor. they are In the recent period, relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia and a number of other Arab countries have been strengthened and positive.

CorridorNorth South International Transport (INSTC) which connects India to Central Asia is a big project for India.

dynamicthisThe projectcanincite the interest of Arab countries to Increase the construction of the North-South corridor. The construction of the 2,100-kilometer Trans-Arabian railway, which will strengthen connectivity between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, could have a direct impact on the corridor.

After the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a sharp increase in turnover between Moscow and Delhi, especially a sharp increase in the volume of energy exports from Russia due to Russia’s discount policy (for oil ) Was. The conclusion of the free trade agreement of the Eurasian Economic Union and India can also be an important stimulus for the development of this corridor, which will allow us to use the opportunities of the huge Indian market more easily .

Currently, the North-South Corridor has attracted the attention of Indian experts as an alternative and competitor to China’s Belt and Road Corridor. It also reflects the geopolitical desire of India and it is important for India to bypass Pakistan in terms of strengthening the connection with Afghanistan through Iranian soil. In addition, the implementation of this project will enable India to serve the markets of Central Asia, Caucasus, EAEU And Europe to compete with China.

It is expected if the northern corridor is fully operational–southcan be annually up to 30 carried million tons of cargo and in the future this number may increase.

South Caucasus aspires to become one of the important poles of international trade from east to west and It is north to south, hence countries in the region are trying to adapt their infrastructure to the resulting requirements, which can be an important driver. At the same time, the main superpowers of the region are trying to fully control these infrastructures.

In this context, it should be mentioned that the North-South, Armenia-Iran road corridor project has been discussed in recent decades.

North-South road investment in Area

“North-South Road Corridor Investment Program of Armenia is a major infrastructure project The purpose of which is to develop cargo transportation and passenger transportation through the Moghri highway (border of Iran) – Yerevan – Bavara (to the border of Georgia)with a total length of 556 kmiscompliantwith the international standards of this route The shortest way to connect Iranian ports (Bandar Abbas, Chabahar) to the Black Sea is.

The road connection between Iran and Armenia was laid in the early 1990s. when the bridge connecting two countries over the river It was built. The Iranian-Armenian community had a great contribution in the process of coordinating the construction of this bridge. >date 15.09.2009 should be An important event in the construction of the Armenia-Iran road.

Cooperation framework between the government of the Republic of Armenia and Asian Development BankSigning of Agreement (North-SouthRoad Corridor Investment Planandfinancing) according to which it was supposed to be built.

based on studies announced in the year2012, The budget for the construction of a 556-kilometer north-south road corridor project amounts to /span>962 million estimated, of which 500 million dollarsshould be paid through a loan by the Asian Development Bankand its 115 million dollars should be paid jointly by the Armenian government in the form of loans etc.

Earlier in 2017, then Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Armenia, Vahan Martirosyan announced that according to the latest calculations, the investment program will cost about 2 billion dollars, which It reduces the economic efficiency of this project .

Armenian North-South Road Corridor Investment Program consists of 5 stages. Currently The first stage (31 km: Yervan-Artashat-Ashtarak)has been completed and construction operation 2 (42 km) and 3 (46.2 km) (Northern part of Armenia) with time delay and additional financial costs.

currently design work Stage 4 (304 km:Ashtarak– Aghar (Iranian border)) has been completed and the preliminary construction of a part of the road is underway, especially on October 23, 2023, a new contract was signed between the Armenian government and 3 Iranian companies, according to which the Iranian side of the Agarak tunnel (Iranian border) –Vardinizur(the name of the city is ) – will build the 32 km long Kajaran (Sivnik, Armenia).

Therefore, the Iranian side also participated in the construction of the road corridor from North to South Armenia and built equipment and Already deployed the instrument.

Works related to phase 5 of the North-South road corridor of Armenia (Gyumri-Bavara (Georgian border): 624 km) is currently stopped and no action is taken.

withnoting that currently the section is very Few of the cargoes are transported by rail in Iran, especially since the Rasht-Astara railway is not completed yet.

This It means that by building the north-south road, Armenia can not only provide suitable infrastructure to Iran, but also the logistics companies of Armenia can transport cargoes. Iranianparticipate.

This can also create opportunities for logistics organizations operating in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union to invest in Armenia. In addition, the price of liquid fuel in the domestic market of Iran is among the cheapest prices in the world, which prefers to organize transportation by car, and this issue importance of the road from north to south of Armenia more than Preamplifies.

If the north-south road corridor (556 km) is built, the transportation of Iranian goods through Armenian soil will be 5 hours instead of 9 hours and the transportation cost will be 1 A ton of cargo per kilometer will be reduced to 1.5-2 US dollars. Of course, all this helps not only the development of trade between Armenia and Iran, but also the development of regional and interregional trade.

New Armenia-Iran railway construction project (305 km)

Since 2008, the estimated cost of the construction of the Armenia-Iran railway to It has been constantly changing. At first, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Armenia announced the cost of this project at 1.33 billion dollars, then 2 billion dollars, and then the cost of the project increased to 2.5 billion dollars.

In January 2017, then Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology Vahan Martirosyan announced that the project would cost $3.2 billion.

In 2012, the Armenian government signed a concession agreement with Rasia FZE based in Dubai signed on to build the railway, and in 2014, the Armenian government approved the preliminary plan for the construction of the railway, according to which the total length of the railway should be 305 km, including 64 bridges 19.4 km long and 60 tunnels long about 102.3 km.

In line with the implementation of the Armenia-Iran railway project, the projects of “Southern Armenia Railway” and“Armenia Southern Highway”started in 2013. It should be noted that in early 2009, the Armenian government established the Railway Construction Department, which was supposed to undertake the construction of the Armenia-Iran railway and receive various loans.

However, this plan later encountered investment problems that delayed its implementation. At the moment, the Armenia-Iran railway is considered a relatively less than realistic project, because according to various estimates, it involves a very large investment, which is about 3.5 billion dollars.

The importance of this project is also questioned due to the closure of the Georgia-Abkhazia-Russia railway. It is obvious that the current and projected trade volume of Armenia with Iran and other countries of the region through its territory is not enough to economically justify such expenses.

However, this situation can change. In recent years, trade between (Russia-Iran-India), (Russia-Iran-Middle East), trade(European Economic UnionEAEU –Iran)Increasing communication can have a positive effect on the economic attractiveness of the project.

Establishment of railway connection with Iran through the soil of Nakhchivan

due to the conflicts that appeared in the South Caucasus in the 1990s rail communication between countries including Armenia-Nakhchivan-Iran cargo transport was disrupted.

In a meeting held on December 15, 2021 in Brussels, agreements were reached between the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan in The construction and reactivation of Yarasakh-Jolfa-Ordobad-Moghri-Horadiz railway was achieved, which provides the possibility of establishing a rail connection with Iran through Jolfa, that is, Iran’s Bandar Abbas cargoes can go to the port of Armenia by rail. Puti in the Black Sea (from there to Europe) and then to Russia.

In order to achieve this, it is necessary to restore the railway lines first. The length of the Armenian railway section from Yarasakh It is 1 km to the border of Nakhchivan. According to official statistics and preliminary estimates for the restoration of this one kilometer section, it is about 221 million dollars for the 45 km long section. Need.

From Armenia’s point of view, it is not profitable to build a 45-kilometer railway line from Mughri to Azerbaijan, because the distance Transportation from Armenia will be extended to the north and east, Azerbaijan can use the existing Kazakh railway (in the northern region of Armenia) to connect itself with Nakhchivan and Turkey. Use it.

Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani side only time with Restarting the Nakhchivan (Armenia-Iran) railway will agree that the Migi-Horadiz railway (South region Armenia) to be built, which is not realistic at all and is only a political goal Iron through Nakhchivan soil can be the shortest and cheapest option for transporting goods to Europe and the Russian Federation, so restarting the Nakhchivan railway should be considered separately.

In short, the main obstacles that negatively affect the implementation of the North-South corridor of Armenia-Iran He mentioned:

1.The security situation of the region and unresolved conflicts, risk of military invasion

2. None Interest High interest in investments to implement infrastructures

3. Absence of companies Major in the implementation and design of relevant infrastructure

4. Lack of attention and review required for infrastructure implementation by the government

The North-South Corridor for Armenia and Iran is not only of economic importance, but also of security, as the Caucasus countries South and beyond can use it, it will strengthen regional and inter-regional trade and economic relations and strengthen security.

new : Soren ParsianDepartment of Economics, Associate Professor of Yerevan University

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