Iran and Italy have signed a memorandum of understanding for Italy’s state-owned rail company, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, to carry out work worth $5.6bn for the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways.
Iran is planning 10,000km of railway development, and it is likely that Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane will be working to develop a high-speed rail line between Tehran, Qom and Isfahan.
The Italian state rail company’s certification arm, Italcertifier will also work on the design for a test centre for Iranian infrastructure and rolling stock, while engineering arm, Italferr, is preferred bidder for the construction of a metro in Mashhad to the northeast of Iran.
The Italian rail agreements, the first since 2006, when the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran, are set against backdrop of some $18.4bn deals signed between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Rome in January.
According to Reuters, a pipeline contract worth $4bn to $5bn for Italian oil services group Saipem was among the deals – the rumours of which caused the company’s shares to promptly surge 18.5%.
Italian steel firm Danieli has also stated that it will be signing commercial agreements worth up to $6.1bn with Iran, while infrastructure firm Condotte d’Acqua is set to sign deals worth up to $4.3bn.
At the event in January, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani note that the country’s market “offers Italian and European investors the opportunity to establish themselves in the entire region”.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi added that the agreements were just the beginning of cooperation between the countries, noting: “We have signed the first accords but we are only at the start of a long road.”
