ArmInfo. Armenia's Deputy Minister of Economy Narek Teryan had a meeting in Mumbai with Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India Shantanu Thakur. Attending the meeting was Iranian Commercial Attache in Armenia Vardan Kostanyan.
The parties discussed the possibility of Indian participation in the Dry Port project in the Shirak region, problems with logistics, as well as issues related to increasing trade volumes between the two countries.
A Dry Port or an industrial park with a special economic zone is planned to be built in Gyumri on the territory adjacent to Shirak Airport, which will also border the railway and the "North-South" highway.
The Dry Port is designed as a multifunctional and multimodal hub to serve those local and international companies that require an operational procedure to consolidate customs processes, which can help reduce the latter's operating costs. As the Minister of Economy previously reported, according to the planned goals, the newly created industrial park "Dry Port" in Gyumri will provide 3% of Armenia's GDP.
Charle Malas, Advisor to Armenia's Minister of Economy and authors of the Dry Port concept, said the cost of the project is over $100mln.
According to customs data, in the first half of 2023, Armenia exported goods worth $19.3mln to India, with a decline of 72.4% over the year. At the same time, the customs value of import supplies increased 2.1 times to $1.4mln.
