ArmInfo.Armenia has announced invitation of tenders for the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran section (70-day-long qualifying stage) of the North-South transport corridor, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He hopes for a legal finalization of the agreements on the construction of a railway between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The project is of strategic importance. "At the first stage all companies that can and willing to apply for the road construction are being invited," he said.
"I would like to say that we resigned the North-South project as a result of recent discussions and renamed it North-South, East-West. We hope to implement the project at higher rates. It means that one of the branches will connect Armenia with Iran, another will connect Armenia with Azerbaijan and further with Nakhichvan and Turkey. We hope we will select a construction company for the project by the end of this year. Of course, the East-West part of the project has not been realized, but we will do it promptly under political agreements," Mr Pashinyan said.
Armenia's premier hopes for active applications, and the companies that will succeed at the qualifying stage will participate in the tender.
The premier also reported design work is in progress to renovate the Armenian sections of the Yeraskh- Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway. He hopes that the agreements will soon be finalized with a full- scale de jure process to follow.
Armenia's Minister of Territorial Administration Gnel Sanosyan reminded the government members the Sisian-Kajaran section of the 560-long North-South motorway is one of the key sections. Under the project a new 60-km-long motorway is to be constructed, with a design speed of 100kmh, with bridges with a total length of 4.7km and tunnels with a total length of 12.5km. The Burgashat tunnel alone will be 8.6km long.
The new motorway will be 58km shorter, with improved traffic safety and comfort.
The construction of the southern section of the North-South motorway is a strategic priority in the context of the latest developments in Armenia's Syunik on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The new motorway will safely connect Armenia's regions bordering on Iran with its central regions. The construction is estimated at $1.5bln, which implies Armenia's active cooperation with its international partners.
The North-South motorway will shorten the distance from the Iranian border to the Georgian border from 556 to 490 kilometers. It will facilitate the access to the Black Sea both for Armenia and for Iran. The project will also ensure access to European states via Armenia (Meghri-Kapan, Goris-Yerevan, Ashtarak- Gyumri-Bavra) and via Georgia. The project was initially to be completed in 2019. The cost had regularly been revised upward. Back in 2009, the Asian Development Bank allocated over $1bln for the motorway construction.
