ArmInfo.The Crossroads of Peace initiative must become a reality not only for Armenia, but also for the other states in the region, Armenia's Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan stated in Parliament.
According to him, with the consent of all parties and if the initiative is continued, funds for its implementation will be found at certain stages. In particular, the Reserve Fund contains financial resources that have not yet been distributed, which will be used to implement these programs.
The minister noted that the country's draft state budget for 2024 provides significant financial resources for the implementation of infrastructure projects. In this context, the RA government also counts on assistance from the European Union, including on the issue of the North-South transport corridor. Thus, for the third tranche of the southern section of the transport corridor, financing will be provided by the European Investment Bank. Hovhannisyan added that discussions on the southern segment are still ongoing due to some technical problems.
Earlier, Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan, at the Silk Road forum in Tbilisi, presented the "Crossroads of Peace" project to establish regional communications, calling open borders, economic, political, and cultural ties an important component of the peace agenda. As part of this initiative, a special unit has already been created in the republic, which will ensure the safety of the passage of goods, vehicles, and people along international communications passing through Armenia.
As for the North-South transport corridor, the EU promised to allocate about 600 million euros out of the previously announced 2.6 billion euros for its implementation. According to the Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia Kristine Galechyan, the total cost of the construction project for this site is $237 million, of which $150 million will be raised from the EDB, and $86.7 million will be a share participation in the RA government program. Using these funds, it is planned to build a 32-kilometer Agarak-Kajaran road, including the entrance to the Kajaran tunnel. The Deputy Minister emphasized that construction work will begin this year and will last three years.
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. Construction of the corridor was originally scheduled to be completed in 2019. The cost of the program was constantly revised upward. Meanwhile, in September 2012, when construction of the highway began, the amount quoted by representatives of the Armenian government was several times less - $962mln.
According to the draft state budget of the Republic of Armenia, 311.6 billion drams will be allocated for infrastructure programs in 2024. In particular, it is planned to carry out repairs on approximately 100 km of interstate roads, 110 km of republican roads and 130 km of regional roads. It is also planned to begin construction of important sections of the North-South interstate highway: Kajaran - Agarak (32 km), Sisian - Kajaran (60 km), as well as the Kajaran tunnel.
