ArmInfo.In 2022, Armenia will allocate 144 billion drams (about 295 million US dollars at the current exchange rate) to Nagorno-Karabakh as budgetary support, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Artsakh Republic President Arayik Harutyunyan on January 24 during a meeting on solving social and infrastructural problems in Artsakh.
According to Pashinyan, in 2021, the volume of budgetary assistance from Armenia to Artsakh exceeded 100 billion drams (more than 206 million US dollars). According to the RA Prime Minister, it is necessary to begin the transition from social crisis management to the stage of development, and try to work in this direction. "I think, in general, it can be stated that the programs are being implemented effectively," he said.
Arayik Harutyan, in turn, noted that 140 billion drams were allocated to the Artsakh budget in 2022 in the form of an interstate loan and direct grants. In addition, the Armenian government has directly implemented numerous social programs through the programs of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Thanks to this, as the President of Artsakh pointed out, it was possible to prevent emigration and solve even more important problems.
According to him, 300 apartments have already been built, which were transferred mainly to the families of displaced persons. Housing construction has begun in terms of erecting 3,000 houses, about 500 apartments have been renovated and provided from the old fund, about 2,000 apartments are being designed, the construction of which is scheduled to begin in 2022. In total, the task was set to build and repair about 5,000 houses. Thus, according to Harutyunyan, the main problem of housing will be solved.
As the Artsakh leader noted, with the allocated 144 billion drams it will be possible to solve not only the housing, but also the existing problems. "We have launched very ambitious programs. The Badara- Stepanakert pipeline is already under construction, which will completely solve the issue not only with high-quality drinking water in Stepanakert, but also in the settlements under construction, some of which are located in the vicinity of Stepanakert. . At the same time, the construction of the Badara reservoir has already begun, which is an unprecedented event in the history of independent Artsakh. We are nearing completion of work on the Sovetari canal, which will solve the issue of irrigating an additional 3,000 hectares," he said.
In addition, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is building 1,061 apartments, implementing other infrastructure projects, building water pipelines in other villages and other settlements, and asphalting is being carried out. In other words, as the president noted, projects are being implemented in all areas of infrastructure, including housing. "We managed to solve the most important problem - the problem with electricity," he said.
In addition, as the president of Artsakh said, the largest taxpayer and employer, the Kashen mining complex of the Base Metals company, is already operating at 70-80%. "The issue of water and energy supply has been resolved, which is already noticeable in the state budget revenues - if in 2021 it was planned 17 billion, then we made 34 billion. This year, we provided for 40 billion by the program, but, of course, our expectations are much higher. In parallel we are developing greenhouses and other areas with various charitable programs and cooperation," he said.