Jahangiri: Iran plans to launch biggest Middle East railway

Construction of a railway joining Shalamche in southwestern Iran and the Iraqi port city of Basra, as the biggest railway project of the Middle East, is on the agenda of the Iranian government, First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said on Saturday.   

Jahangiri, who was speaking during a ceremony in the southwestern city of Abadan, said that the government has two plans for the development of Abadan and Khorramshahr and has made the necessary agreements with the Iraqi government in this regard.  

Iran and Iraq are holding expert meetings about the projects, the vice president said, expressing hope that executive operations will begin in the near future.  

Once inaugurated, the Shalamche-Basra railway would facilitate the transfer of commodities from the East to the West and from China to the Mediterranean Sea, Jahangiri said.

He also said that Iran and Iraq have plans to dredge the Arvand River which runs on the joint border.

The vice president noted that in order to help return prosperity to the ports of Abadan and Khorramshahr, the ground needs to be prepared for commuting of trade ships.