Italy's state railways company expects to sign a contract to build the first stretch of a high-speed rail line in Iran in February 2017, its chief executive said.

The contract for the roughly 100 km-stretch between Qom and Arak is worth about €1 billion ($1.1 billion), Ferrovie dello Stato chief Renato Mazzoncini said at an event in Rome.

Ferrovie signed a framework agreement to build two high-speed lines in Iran when Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited Tehran with a delegation of business leaders in April.

Mazzoncini said the overall deal would be worth about €4 billion ($4.41 billion).-Reuters