MOSCOW, August 11 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Russia and Pakistan are working out the parameters, including the route, cargo types, tariffs, and delivery times, for a test cargo shipment along the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), the Russian Transport Ministry told RIA Novosti.

The Russian and Pakistani railway administrations have created the necessary framework for a test shipment along this corridor route. The parties are currently working out the parameters of the trial shipment: the route, cargo types, tariff terms, and delivery times, the ministry said.

The test shipment will allow it to verify the corridor's readiness and refine the cargo transfer technology at the interstate level, it explained.

The test shipment date will be determined in consultation with the Pakistani side and transit countries, the ministry added.

The INSTC is a 7,200-kilometer multimodal route from St. Petersburg to the port of Mumbai (India). There are three INSTC routes: the Trans-Caspian (using railways and ports), and the western and eastern (overland) routes.

In May 2023, Russia and Iran signed documents to complete the final necessary railway section of the corridor's western route — the Rasht-Astara section in Iran. The total cost is $1.85 billion: $1.5 billion from Russia, the remainder from Iran.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar