Thursday, August 6 2020 13:54

ArmInfo.  China is investing  several billion dollars for the implementation of the Smart City project in Armenia. Sargis Gevorgyan, President of the Armenian  Agency for Reconstruction and Development (ADKARS), announced this at  a press conference on August 6 during the signing of a corresponding  agreement with Chinese partners.

He said that the project is being implemented as part of the ''One  Belt One Road'' Initiative, and in total, over 15 years, China is  going to about $ 15 billion for this purpose. The project partners  are Exim Bank of China, China Railway Construction Corporation, China  Communications Construction Company, the Chinese Academy of Sciences,  etc. Immediately after the signing of the agreement, according to the  head of ADKARS, a group will be set up to undertake the selection of  areas, the development of city programs, etc. However, the location  of the project has not yet been determined.

"Together with our Chinese partners, a smart city will be built,  which will concentrate all the scientific and technological  competence of Armenia, as well as China. In Soviet times, we had  great competence, we hope to use it now too, "Gevorgyan stressed.

He said that the main areas of the Smart City will be artificial  intelligence, the creation of new materials, the Internet of smart  things, the digital economy, modern agriculture, smart medicine,  including neurotechnology in medicine, smart sports, smart tourism,  5G, quantum computing and communications, fintech, machine learning,  etc. <We have every opportunity to become a leading country in the  21st century that will develop science-intensive technologies. This  will make it possible to dramatically increase the GDP>, - he stated.   Design work for the city will begin in 2021. It is envisaged that the  city, which will be home to about 15 thousand people, will be divided  into 2 parts - industrial and science-intensive. Gevorgyan stressed  that the implementation of this project will contribute, among other  things, to the development of the regions of Armenia, since basically  the entire economy of the country is concentrated in Yerevan. In this  regard, he noted that the governor of Shirak region Tigran Petrosyan  is also involved in the project, whose participation can radically  change the economy of the northern region of Armenia.

It should be noted that the aim of the activities of the Agency for  Reconstruction and Development of Armenia (ADKARS) is to assist in  the creation of a powerful high-tech economy, information society,  post-industrial state in Armenia. The founders of the company are  representatives from Great Britain and Armenia. The main activities  of ADKARS are: information technology, attracting foreign high-tech  companies to Armenia, development and creation of fundamentally new  educational systems and technologies, creation of modern transport  and telecommunication infrastructure in Armenia, assistance in the  creation of competitive national and joint companies offering modern  high-quality products and services for global level, assistance in  the adoption of new standards in the field of construction,  transport, ecology, education to create a comfortable and  environmentally friendly environment, the development of a new  concept for the development of agriculture, to ensure food security  in Armenia, aimed at producing products of the "premium" standard,  development of a system modern, high-quality, affordable medical care  for the population, assistance in the development of modern laws that  contribute to the smooth development of high-tech business, the  creation of a post-industrial economy and an information society in  Armenia.