Russia to Give Iran $2.4bln in Loans for Joint Projects
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Moscow will provide Iran with a key loan amounting to $2.4 billion in a bid to finance two major economic projects in the Islamic Republic.
According to a report by Russia’s official internet-portal of legal information on Monday, the first tranche of the loan, amounting to $1.1 billion, will be used for electrifying Garmsar-Incheboron railroad in central Iran.
The second section, nearly $1.3 billion, will finance the construction of a thermal power plant in the Islamic Republic.
Back in February, a Russian deputy finance minister had announced that Moscow was ready to give Iran a $5 billion state export loan in 2016.
“The degree of readiness (to grant a loan to Iran) is very high, with one of three issues we haven’t finally accorded yet being the legal implementation of the agreement, which is a separate matter,” Sergey Storchak said.
Preliminary agreements on granting Iran the $5-billion loan were signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tehran at the end of November 2015.
Officials in Moscow had earlier said that the loan will be used for infrastructure projects, mostly likely electrical power generation and the development of railways.
The measure is expected to boost trade between the two countries. The target is $10 billion, from the current $1.6 billion.
