On December 30, a newly built road bridge and pedestrian crossing over the Astara River on the border of Azerbaijan with Iran (281 kilometers south of Baku) was inaugurated.

According to the information, the agreement signed in 2021 between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Iran "Astara" (Azerbaijan) - "Astara" (Iran) state border-crossing checkpoints from the state border of Azerbaijan and Iran, the construction of a road bridge and a pedestrian crossing over the Astarachay River On December 30, the opening ceremony of the bridge and the modular border crossing point, which was built according to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Construction, was held.

Shahin Mustafayev, the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Co-chairman of the State Commission for Economic, Trade and Humanitarian Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran, and Mehrdad Bazrpash, co-chairman of the Commission from the Iranian side and Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, took part in the ceremony.

Khairullah Khademi, the Director General of Iran's Transport Infrastructure Construction and Development Company, said that the opening of the Astarachay bridge between Azerbaijan and Iran will increase the exchange of goods between the two countries to two million tons.

Khademi said that increasing trade exchange with neighboring countries is one of the main programs of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. He noted that the Astara region is one of the most used transport routes between the two countries and Iran's gateway to the Caucasus, European countries, and Russia.

"Intensive negotiations are being held between the leaders of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission to increase transit opportunities through the two countries' common borders. We hope that the newly opened Astarachay bridge will increase the exchange of goods and the transit of passengers," he said.

Notably, the construction of the bridge started on March 1, 2022. The total length of the bridge intended for freight vehicles is 97.5 meters. There are four traffic lanes on the bridge. Two footpaths, each 2.5 meters wide, were built on the bridge.