Construction work of North-South project iin Syunik moves to  practical phase

ArmInfo.The construction work of the International North-South Transport Corridor project i (INSTC)  in Syunik moves to a practical phase.

This is stated in a video published by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and  Infrastructures of Armenia on its official Facebook page.  In particular, as noted, we are talking about the most complex and expensive section of the INSTC - Sisian- Kajaran (Tranche-4) with a  length of 60 km, the total cost of which is estimated at $ 1 billion.  On this section will be built: 27 bridges with a total length of 4.7  km, and 9 tunnels - with a total mileage - 12.5 km, one of which will  be the longest in Armenia (8 km long).

Despite the difficult terrain of this section, it will be possible to  develop a speed of up to 100 km/h on this route. According to those  responsible, there will be a road of the 2nd technical category,  which will reduce the duration of the journey by about 2 hours.

The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures noted  that today 23 international construction companies are awaiting the  results of a tender to start construction work. The winning company  undertakes to commission the Sisian-Kajaran road after 6 years.   Financing is provided by the Asian Development Bank, the EU, with  co-financing from the Armenian government.

The North-South project will reduce the distance from the Iranian  border to the Georgian border from 556 to 490 kilometers. The road  will significantly facilitate access to the Black Sea not only for  Armenia, but also for Iran. The project will provide access to the  Black Sea and European countries through the territory of Armenia  (Meghri-Kapan-Goris-Yerevan-Ashtarak-Gyumri-Bavra) and Georgia. The  corridor was initially scheduled to be completed in 2019. The cost of  the program was constantly revised. In September 2012, when the  construction of the highway began, the amount indicated by the  representatives of the RA government was several times less than the  current amount - 962 million dollars, today we are talking about  investments of about 3 billion dollars.