Azerbaijan and Iran officially opened a new bridge and border checkpoint on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border across the Astarachay River. The construction of these crucial border facilities aligns with a memorandum signed in 2021 between the governments of Azerbaijan and Iran, TuraNews.kz reports.
The inauguration ceremony, attended by Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan and co-chairman of the State Commission on Economic, Trade, and Humanitarian Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran, Shahin Mustafayev, and Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development and co-chairman of the commission from the Iranian side, Mehrdad Bazrpash, marked the successful completion of the project.
Construction of the 97.5-meter-long and 4-meter-wide bridge, designed for freight transport, commenced on March 1, 2022. The bridge features four traffic lanes and two pedestrian lanes, each 2.5 meters wide.
Simultaneously, the construction and installation of a modular checkpoint began on August 28 of the same year and concluded on December 1. Spanning an area of 4,500 square meters, the checkpoint is equipped with modern facilities to facilitate customs procedures and ensure swift passage.
The new checkpoint aims to process 250-300 trucks daily, totaling 500-600 freight vehicles. Its strategic location as part of the North-South transport corridor is expected to enhance freight traffic, particularly given the corridor’s 44.5% increase in volume this year.
In the first 11 months of 2023, bilateral cargo transportation between Azerbaijan and Iran surged by 46%, including a significant 2.1 times increase in transit traffic. The newly opened bridge and checkpoint are anticipated to further boost cargo transportation between the two countries.
The development of road and customs border infrastructure at the state border will enable vehicles to bypass the city of Astara, enhancing the efficiency of intra-city transport flow. Additionally, expansion plans for the checkpoint are underway, with the capacity set to accommodate at least 1,000 trucks daily after completion.
