ArmInfo. The implementation of the project for the construction of a bridge across the Debit River at the Armenian-Georgian border will be extended. At the meeting on December 6, the Government of Armenia approved the draft letter of agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on the extension of the program implementation terms.
According to the Deputy Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of Armenia Bagrat Badalyan, Armenia signed a loan agreement with EBRD on November 23, 2012. The Bank agreed to allocate 10.3 million euros for the project implementation, of which 6 million euros were provided to Georgia, and 4.3 million euros to Armenia. Meanwhile, construction work on the Armenian side has not yet begun. Now, according to the letter of agreement, the project implementation period is extended by three and a half years - until May 23, 2022. It is planned that the Iranian contracting company Ariana Tunnel Dam Co will carry out the design work, and technical control is entrusted to the joint venture Soosung Engineering Co and Korea Consultants International Co.
To recall, the decision to build the "Bridge of Friendship" was finally made after the visit of the former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and then the former Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan to Tbilisi. The bridge on the border of Bagratashen - Sadakhlo was too old and almost outdated. For its reconstruction were needed serious investments. Since the cost of it was too high, the parties decided to build a new bridge that meets European standards. The official start of the bridge construction program was given in 2013, and negotiations with the Georgian side and the European Development Bank continued until 2014.