ArmInfo. On May 12, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Suren Papikyan had a telephone conversation with Chinese Ambassador to RA Tian Erlun.
According to the press service of the department, the interlocutors touched on the implementation of the program for the construction of the North-South transport corridor for the third tranche. Due to the suspension of construction work, difficulties arose that could have a negative impact on the policy of effective implementation of capital expenditure programs. The importance of the natural continuation of the program and the preservation of previously established deadlines and the settlement of mutual requirements were emphasized. "The resumption of work on the sections of the Talin-Lajik and Lanjik-Gyumri roads will provide significant progress in strengthening mutual understanding and an atmosphere of trust," Suren Papikyan noted.
Earlier, Arminfo reported that the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure sent a letter to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Armenia, Tian Erlun, in connection with the situation related to the departure of the Chinese company Sinohydro, which is a contractor in the construction project North-South . The Ministry announced the need to know about the possibilities and timing of the return of the contractor to Armenia.
Earlier, Papikyan noted that the pandemic exacerbated the situation, and the problems will grow every day. In this regard, Papikyan noted that with the Chinese partners had a joint agenda, in addition, the issue of additional work was discussed. "The RA Government attaches importance to the timing of the North-South project, and if our Chinese partners cannot return, we should discuss with them other options for resolving the situation," he emphasized. Recall that the construction of the entire 556-kilometer North-South highway, which stretches from Bavra (the Armenian-Georgian border) to Meghri (the Armenian-Iranian border), is estimated at more than $ 2 billion. The construction of the corridor was originally planned to be completed in 2019, however now the deadlines are postponed for another 7-10 years. Under the North- South program, the Armenian government calculated the preliminary savings of $ 2.5 per hour for each passenger and $ 1 per hour for the transportation of a ton of cargo. As the Armenian authorities expect, the program will allow the country to mitigate the consequences of the blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey in the future, play the role of a transit state in the cargo transportation of the countries of the region, as well as join the Black Sea ring highway.
