Monday, November 12 2018 12:52

ArmInfo.Armenian Acting  Minister of Transport, Communications and IT Hakob Arshakyan and  Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic  of China to the Republic of Armenia Tian Erlun on November 12  discussed cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the  People's Republic of China in the field of road construction,

high technologies and telecommunications. According to the press service  of the Ministry of Transport, Arshakyan highly appreciated the  cooperation between the countries, formed in the above-mentioned  areas.

Referring to the construction work under the Tranche-3 investment  program "North-South", carried out by the Chinese company Sinohydro  Corporation, Hakob Arshakyan noted that problems had been fixed in  this sector, which are now being solved gradually. The pace of  construction, as he pointed out, has accelerated significantly.

The Acting Minister noted that in connection with the revision of the  timing of the program, it is necessary to attract additional  resources, to increase the level of accountability of work. At the  same time, according to him, if even as a result of the efforts made,  it is not possible to meet the deadlines, it is possible that new,  reasonable terms will be discussed.

Ambassador Erlun, in turn, noted that he was ready to assist in  establishing mutual understanding in construction work. He also  conveyed the interest of the Chinese company to take part in the  construction of Tranche-4 (Kajaran-Agarak section), both as a builder  and to provide loan funds on favorable terms.  According to him, the  Chinese company is open to cooperation in any format.

The parties exchanged views on the establishment of direct flights.  According to the Chinese Ambassador, the topic can be returned after  a significant increase in passenger traffic. The Chinese ambassador  noted the promise of IT cooperation, noting the huge untapped  potential in this direction. He also stressed the importance of the  role of Armenia as a link between the PRC and the EEU countries.

Hakob Arshakyan proposed to create a platform for establishing links  between technology entrepreneurs of the two countries. Such a  platform, as the Chinese diplomat pointed out, could be the annual  exhibition an exhibition that takes place in the high-tech city of  China - Shenzhen.

Acting Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and IT, Bagrat  Badalyan, presenting the framework for the participation of the  Armenian delegation in the Brussels meeting "Pilot Project Expert  Group meeting on Financing "on November 20 stated that Armenia will  present a construction program at Tranche-4 at the meeting. As the  Deputy Minister said, the Armenian side positively assesses the  interest of the Chinese side in the implementation of this project.

The project to create a transport corridor "North-South" with a total  length of 556 km, will provide access to the Black Sea and European  countries through the territory of Armenia  (Meghri-Kapan-Goris-Yerevan- Ashtarak-Gyumri-Bavra) and Georgia. The  $ 1 billion investment program is aimed at securing the connection  between the north (the border with Georgia) and southern Armenia (the  border with Iran) via transport communications that meet high  international standards and access to world markets. The road will be  covered with concrete. As the authorities of Armenia expect, the  program will allow the country in the future to mitigate the  consequences of the blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey, to play the  role of a transit state in the freight transportation of the  countries of the region, and also to join the Black Sea ring highway.  The Spanish "Corsan Corviam" won the tenders for the construction of  the first few lines of the route, the last tender (for the  Landik-Gyumri section in the north of Armenia) - the Chinese  "Sinohydro Corporation".  It is noteworthy that the South part of the  automobile transport corridor "North-South" will cost Armenia $ 1.5  billion, and the whole project - $ 2-2.5 billion.