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.