ArmInfo. Subcontractors involved in the construction of the North- South transport corridor will receive a budget loan of 2.2 billion drams. The corresponding decision was made at a meeting of the RA Government on April 9.
According to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan, 28 subcontract organizations and individuals will receive a budget loan, bound by contractual obligations with the project contractor represented by the Spanish "Corsan Corviam" company, which, after declaring bankrupt, did not pay the required amount. The minister stressed that a budget loan is granted for a period of five years and an annual rate of 0.01%. This measure, the minister noted, will enable Armenian companies to improve their financial situation and continue work in the field of road construction. The selection committee did not accept some sections of the road because of a discrepancy in quality, and now it is also necessary to attract additional financial resources for their modernization. Suren Papikyan recalled that a criminal case has been instituted against the Spanish company, an investigation is underway.
However, as RA Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan noted, the leadership of some companies was associated with the leadership of Corsan Corviam, and criminal cases were also instituted against them. For this reason, he called for a list of respectable companies so that state assistance is targeted. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed with this.
To recall, in the process of building the road, numerous violations were identified, many of which criminal cases were instituted. Earlier, the RA Prosecutor General's Office reported that the officials involved in the development and implementation of the program, without reason, without the right to compensate for the damage, agreed to continue the construction and extend the terms for providing advisory services. In some cases, consultancy contracts were raised for consultants, and services provided included repetitive work that was not necessary. Also, no measures were taken to ensure daily monitoring to comply with the quality standards of building materials, and, in particular, cement. As a result of the coordination of the changes with the contractors, despite the obvious shortcomings in the construction and concreting, the road sections within Tranche-1 (Yerevan-Artashat and Yerevan-Ashtarak) were put into operation. Thus, the Prosecutor General's Office stated that the officials involved in the program did not fulfill their official duties, inadvertently leading to grave consequences. In particular, in addition to the fact that over about 9 years all the stipulated deadlines were reached during which the construction work of the North-South road and related expectations regarding the reduction of travel time, safe and high-quality transport links to the north of the country, were not completed south, the development of business ties. As a result, the state suffered damage in the amount of 23.5 billion drams. On the basis of the above, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case on the basis of the second part of the 308th article of the RA Criminal Code, sending it to the Investigative Committee for a preliminary investigation.