Fact Box: International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)
- The INSTC project was initiated by Russia, Iran and India in September 2000.
- At present, there are 13 Members of INSTC, namely- India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman and Syria.
- Bulgaria has joined as an Observer State.
- The INSTC is a multi-modal, cost and time effective from India to Northern and Western Europe.
- The route links the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and onwards to northern Europe.
- It envisages the movement of goods from Mumbai, India to Bandar Abbas, Iran by sea, and from Bandar Abbas to Bandar-e Anzali, an Iranian port on the Caspian Sea, by road.
- From Bandar-e-Anzali, the route proceeds to the Russian port city of Astrakhan by ship across the Caspian Sea, and thereafter from Astrakhan to the other regions of the Russian Federation and further into Europe via Russian Railways.
|