ArmInfo.On July 21, the Government of Armenia satisfied the application of MYLER Mountain Resort on exemption from import customs duties on imported technological equipment, their components and components, raw materials and materials imported under the investment program implemented in the priority area.
As stated in the explanation to the document, with the help of goods imported by MYLER Mountain Resort it is planned to build a ski resort in accordance with European standards at the regional level in the village of Yeghipatrush, Aparan community, Aragatsotn region of the Republic of Armenia, which will increase the country's tourist attractiveness and sustainable socio-economic development of the region. The project will build a cable car, slides, a hotel and entertainment complex / complexes in accordance with international standards, as well as install an artificial snow system and build other infrastructure for winter recreation. The cost of goods presented for receiving benefits is 16.5 billion drams. Exemption from customs duties is estimated at 1 billion drams. The investment project, approved on July 29, 2021 by the Cabinet of Ministers, envisaged investments in the amount of about 30 billion drams in the construction of a new ski resort in the Aragatsotn region of Armenia.
The ski complex was planned to be built near Aparan, on an area of about 2080 hectares, at an altitude of about two thousand meters. As part of the program, it is also planned to build places for entertainment, in particular, a casino (investments in the construction of the resort will amount to $7 million). It was reported that during the implementation of the investment program - within 2 years, about 250 jobs will be opened, and after the start of the program - about 1,500 permanent jobs with an average salary of 180 thousand drams. Then acting Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan announced that the program will increase Armenia's GDP by 0.2% annually - taxes in the amount of 1.2 billion drams will be paid to the state budget, and not only during construction, but also during its operation. To this day, none of the promises have been realized.
Already on February 3, 2022, within the framework of the Armenian-Austrian business forum, the Armenian Myler Mountain Resort company signed an agreement with the world leader in the construction of cable cars, the Austrian Doppelmayr company, on the acquisition of a new cable car for the resort complex in the amount of 24 million euros. On the same day, the executive authorities approved the agreement concluded within the framework of the investment program. The document, in particular, establishes the deadlines for the implementation of the investment program and the grounds for unilateral termination of the contract in case of non-fulfillment of obligations under the contract. "According to the schedule, we assume that the cable car will work only in the 2023-2024 season, however, the investor and we will do our best to activate the ski town with new slopes next year," said Vahan Kerobyan, head of the Ministry of Economy.
