ArmInfo. The Russian car industry is ready to resume negotiations on the renewal of the public automobile park of Yerevan. The trade representative of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Armenia Andrey Babko stated this on December 5 at a press conference in Yerevan.
According to him, previously, Russian companies have repeatedly offered high-quality transport at an affordable price. Last year, the delegation of the metropolitan municipality visited several Russian enterprises, where it was shown high-quality and affordable automotive electric bus and trolleybus technology - ''Volgabas'' buses, ''Trolza'' trolleybuses, ''GAS'' buses. With the fall of the ruble exchange rate in 2015, manufacturers agreed not to raise the price in dollar terms, which made the equipment even more affordable. However, with the change of leadership of the Yerevan City Hall, the negotiations were suspended. "Now we are ready to continue negotiations," the trade representative emphasized. In addition, as noted by Andrey Babko, the Russian side is also interested in the supply of elevators for high-rise buildings in Armenia. Earlier, the mayor's office negotiated with the elevator- building factories, which in the 70s collected elevators for rapidly growing Yerevan and other cities of Armenia. The question rested on the price, as the Armenian side offered not only supplies of elevators, but also their service. "And here there were questions with the collection of fees, and with its size. Of course, it is clear that the city authorities did not want to raise utility bills, did not want social tension. But we hope these negotiations will resume and lead to results", said Andrey Babko.
Earlier it was reported that Yerevan Municipality wants to replace trolley buses with electric buses in the new transport network of the capital. In order to implement this project, negotiations were held with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In general, in the new transport network it is planned to replace minibuses with medium and large buses. Their place is also given to electric transport as an environmentally friendly form of transportation. For the new vehicle fleet, the mayor's office is seeking funding. In the Soviet years, more than 20 trolleybus lines operated in Yerevan, now there are five. To note, the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments previously negotiated with the Belarusian side about the organization in Armenia of the production of the assembly of elevators of the Mogilev Elevator Plant. The site of the future enterprise was even defined. However, the project has not yet been implemented.