In this issue:

Italian Government Launches 24 Billion Euro Austerity Budget

Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan Will Establish Common Railway


From Volume 3, Issue Number 31 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published Aug. 3, 2004

World Economic News

Italian Government Launches 24 Billion Euro Austerity Budget

The Italian government announced a 24-billion euro budget balancing plan July 27. Of that, 17 billion should come from "structural measures," whereas 7 billion should come from privatizations. In addition to that, which is supposed to bring the deficit under 3% in 2005, privatizations worth 25 billion per year have been announced between now and 2007, with the aim of reducing public debt from 106 to 100%. Among the austerity measures of FY 2005, cuts in welfare and a higher tax on second houses have been announced. The latter indicates that after squeezing the lower income layers, the middle class is being targetted.

Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan Will Establish Common Railway

In the first specialized meeting attended by the railway organizations of Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed for establishment of a joint tripartite railway company, IRNA reported July 27. The document was signed by deputy head of Iran's Railway Organization for planning and international affairs, Abbas Qorban-Ali, deputy head of the legal department of Russian Railway, Youri Shevchenko, and deputy head of Azerbaijan's Railway, Mehdi Mehdiyev.

According to the MOU, given the significance of the north-south corridor, the three partners reached agreement to implement a railway project connecting the two cities of Rasht and Astara in northern Iran. The joint venture aims to build up a railway route originating in Qazvin and ending up in Astara, via Rasht and Bandar Anzali.

"The three countries agreed to start the executive operations of the project as soon as possible," Qorban-Ali said. The project will connect Iran's railway to the city of Astara in Azerbaijan Republic via Rasht-Anzali-Astara route." Predicting the expense of 250 km Rasht-Anzali-Astara route at $600 million, he said that it will be implemented in four to five years. He added that the railway between Bandar Anzali and Astara in northern Iran is expected to cost $200 million.

Iran will take charge of constructing Qazvin-Rasht-Anzali-Astara railway route. "To expedite implementing Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway line, Russia has proposed to invest and participate in this part of the project," he added. Putting the primary annual capacity for transport of cargo along this route at 2 million tons, he said that the figure is expected to rise to 10-12 million tons in the coming years.

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