Belarus to launch new rail route to Iran, cutting INSTC to two weeks
Belarus is set to activate a new rail route to Iran that will enable containerized cargo transport along the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC) with a transit time of about two weeks, Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported.
According to IRNA on Thursday, BelTA and other regional media, including Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency, cited remarks by Natalia Kananovich, deputy chief executive of Belarusian state company Beltamozhservice, who said the launch of the new route would significantly diversify export products, strengthen the position of domestic suppliers in international markets, and expand their geographic reach.
Under the plan, Beltamozhservice will introduce a new international container transport service along the “Belarus-Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran” corridor, the reports said.
By cutting delivery times to around two weeks, the route is expected to become one of the fastest and most convenient transportation options in the region.
“This innovative logistics solution will improve trade efficiency and strengthen links with West Asian markets, especially Iran,” Kananovich said. She added that “implementation of this project is of particular importance given rising demand for reliable transit corridors.”
The remarks came as Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadeq Malvajerd, in a meeting with her Belarusian counterpart Andrei Kuznetsov on December 8, said Tehran was ready to expand cargo transport and transit cooperation with Minsk within the framework of the INSTC.
The International North-South Transport Corridor is a multimodal trade route linking Iran to Europe, Russia and Central Asia via three main pathways through the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Caspian Sea.