British private company ready to invest in Iran rail project: Lawmaker
An Iranian lawmaker says a British private company has indicted its readiness to take part in a railroad project that is expected to connect two central cities of Iran.
Mohammad Ebrahim Rezaei, who represents the central city of Khomein at the Iranian parliament, was quoted by IRNA as saying on Wednesday that the Iranian Ministry of Road and Urban Development has given the go-ahead to the private British company to take part in the construction of the railroad that will connect two cities of Arak and Isfahan in central Iran.
He added that a preliminary agreement has been reached with the British company during the current week and in case of a final agreement, the company will implement the entire Arak-Isfahan rail project.
“Even if a final deal is not struck with this company, the first phase of the project, including provision of needed infrastructure, will be implemented in less than two months by the Iranian government and the British company will do the rest,” he said.
The lawmaker noted that this is the first time that a rail project is to be implemented by a foreign investor in Iran.
“Through involvement of the foreign investor, this project will be carried out with no budget constraint and will come on-stream in less than two years,” Rezaei said.
He added that basic studies on the project have been carried out by relevant experts and it will see a total of 168 kilometers of railroad built between the two cities.
The lawmaker’s comment come after Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said earlier in May that the country is planning to spend up to $8 billion over the next six years to revamp and expand its railway network.
He added that the country needs to invest USD 1.5 billion a year in the sector during the next six years as part of the Islamic Republic’s vision plan.
Iran currently has two contracts with France’s Alstom Transport and Germany’s Siemens to build locomotives, Nematzadeh said.
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