ArmInfo. 42 Chinese specialists of the Sinogidro Corporation arrived in Armenia to participate in the construction of roads within the Tranche-3 investment program under the North-South project (Talin-Lanjik - 18.7 km and Lanjik-Gyumri - 27.5 km). The representative of the <Sinogridro Corporation> company informed representatives of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia about this.
According to the press service of the ministry, the mobilization of the contractor's personnel will be completed in the near future. At the moment, within the framework of Tranche-3, earthworks have been resumed, the foundation and the top layer of the road are being laid, it is planned to resume the construction of artificial structures. Representative of the company noted that certain sections of the road are already ready for asphalting. According to him, the builder is awaiting approval by the technical control engineer, laboratory examination of the road base in order to start the asphalt laying process.
It is reported that representatives of government agencies also visited the working base of the Sinohydro Corporation, where the company's asphalt plant is located, being built according to German technology and capable of producing up to 300 tons of asphalt per hour. The construction of the plant is at the final stage, and in the near future the plant will be commissioned.
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 Erlong, 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.
To recall, 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.
