Iran has chalked up a plan for $25 billion of investment to modernize and expand its rail network, Managing Director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Mohsen Poursaeed-Aqaei says.�

The country is courting investors with a number of incentives as it seeks to turn into a regional transportation hub by establishing a�railway corridor�linking the Persian Gulf and the subcontinent to the Central Asia and beyond.

�We have defined about $25 billion of rail projects for which we have prepared incentive packages to attract domestic and foreign investment,� Poursaeed-Aqaei told the Tasnim news agency on Tuesday.

The push for investment comes amid growing international enthusiasm for�trade with Tehran while the country seeks to profit from its coastlines in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian to build an integrated transit route.

The International North�South Transport Corridor between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and the Central Asia for freight transportation by the ship, rail, and road will join the Silk Road.

Officials say Iran�s plans include increasing the country�s track lengths to 25,000 kilometers by 2025 from under 15,000 kilometers now.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Mohsen Poursaeed-Aqaei[/caption]

According to Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Reza Netmatzadeh, Iran needs $1.5 billion of annual investment in the sector in the next six years.

Iran is a vast country, with an area of more than 1.6 million square kilometers. Its rail network accounts for less than 11% of the overall transportation, in which 33 million people are carried annually in the country of about 80 million.

Much of Iran's transportation is road-based characterized by high accident rates and death toll.

Deputy Transportation Minister Valiollah Afkhami-Rad recently said Iran is interested in the Japanese technology for establishing high-speed rail in order to expand its intercity transportation.

Representatives of more than 20 Japanese companies are currently visiting Iran with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida who struck an agreement on a bilateral investment pact on Monday.

By Press TV