North-South corridor construction management issues was discussed in Government

ArmInfo. The Prime Minister's representative Karen Karapetyan held a meeting of the Programme Management Board of the construction of North-South corridor and investments for sustainable urban development.

As the Government's press service told ArmInfo, during the meeting of members of the Board they discussed and approved the results of the assessment of competition on the construction control areas Davidashen-Ashtarak and Ashtarak-Bagrtashen. The proposal for an audit as part of the second tranche of the investment on the urban development program was also discussed and approved.

The "North-South" Corridor with a total length of 556km will provide access to the Black Sea and to European countries through the territory of Armenia (Meghri-Kapan-Goris-Yerevan-Ashtarak-Gyumri- Bavra) and Georgia. The investment program worth $1bln is aimed at providing the communication of the north (border with Georgia) and Armenia Southern (border with Iran) by transport communications that meet the highest international standards, and access to world markets. The road will be surfaced with concrete pavement. In Armenia the project has attracted the Asian Development Bank loan of $500mln.  Another $150mln will provide the Eurasian Development Bank. The Armenian side is attracted to the project more 60mln EUR from the European Investment Bank. Construction of the corridor is planned to be completed in 2019. According to the program "North-South" the Armenian government has estimated the provisional savings of $2.5 for an hour ride per passenger and $1 for an hour of transportation of a ton of cargo. As the Armenian authorities expected, the program will allow the country to mitigate the effects of the blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey in the future, to play the role of a transit country for cargo transportation in the region, as well as join the Black Sea Ring highway.