Crossroads of Peace initiative must become reality not only for  Armenia, but also for other regional states - Vahe Hovhannisyan

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.