Russia works towards lunching regular freight lines
The North-South transport corridor is designed to provide Russian products with access to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, with further connections via the shortest sea route to the African continent, among other regions. This corridor can be used in reverse to deliver African goods to Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of Russia–Africa Summit.
According to the President, Russia is actively reorienting its transport and logistics flows to the Global South, “including Africa, of course”. He emphasized that Russia works towards connecting the North-South transport corridor with Africa, lunching regular freight lines. “Opening a Russian transport and logistics hub in a port on the eastern shore of Africa could be a good start of our cooperation,” said Vladimir Putin.
North-South international transport corridor (ITC) is a 7,200-kilometre-long transport artery from St Petersburg to ports in Iran and India. North-South ITC has a western and an eastern branch, both running across Iran. The western one foresees cargo transportation by road via Rasht, the eastern one – by railway. The end point in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas from which cargo can be delivered to India by sea. The western branch also crosses Azerbaijan, the eastern one – Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Besides, direct water transportation from Russia to Iran by the Caspian Sea is possible.
The volume of Russian cargo transported by the North-South ITC is expected to double by 2030, from the current 17 million tonnes to 32-35 million tonnes.