TEHRAN (ECOIDEAL)- Tehran and Rome will next week sign an agreement worth 1.2 billion euros to construct a high-speed railway in Central Iran.
CEO of Italy's state railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) Renato Mazzoncini is due to visit Tehran on Tuesday to finalize the construction of the 135-kilometer line between the two Central cities of Arak and Qom.
It is the first stretch of a high-speed rail line which FS plans to build in Iran, with the other being a 320-km planned link between Tehran and Hamadan.
The overall deal is worth 5 billion euros which Ferrovie initially signed under a framework agreement when former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited Tehran with a delegation of business leaders last April.
FS will supply assistance to the Iranian railways for both high-speed and conventional rail lines, including a complete program for training personnel, the company said at the time.
The group has also been connected with the planning and construction of a high-speed rail corridor between Tehran, Qom and Isfahan, and electrification of the rail link between Tehran and Tabriz on the way to the Caucasus and Turkey.
Iran and Italy have signed deals potentially worth billions in sectors including energy, railways and defense.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in a meeting in Rome late June discussed ways of broadening mutual cooperation.
During the meeting in the Italian capital, Zarif and Gentiloni explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating bilateral relations.
The two sides also reviewed regional and international relations.
Zarif voiced Iran’s interest in expansion of economic cooperation with Italy.
Source: Farsnews