ArmInfo.The Armenian-American metallurgical plant in Yeraskh (Ararat region), which was regularly targeted by the Azerbaijani side, will be relocated and built in Ararat village of Ararat region, RA. The corresponding decision was made on December 14 at a meeting of the Armenian government.
The explanation to the document states that there is currently a high demand for reinforcement in the region and, according to calculations, it will continue for another 10-15 years, which is due to both large volumes of construction in Armenia and a sharp drop in supply volumes due to Russian-Ukrainian war.
As a result of the full launch of production facilities, up to 500 jobs will be opened (about 240 at the first stage). The plant will be provided with a territory with a total area of 89.1 thousand sq.m. The required initial investment is approximately $29.9 million. At the first stage, it is planned to build a plant for processing scrap ferrous metal with a y-o-y capacity of 100-120 thousand tons; at the second stage, production volumes will be doubled, and a plant will also be built for the production of other metal structures and products (pipes, profiles of various sections, containers and etc.). The y-o-y turnover of the enterprise will be 200-250 million dollars.
In the summer of this year, Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan announced the construction of a metallurgical plant in Yeraskh for the processing and production of ferrous metals, angles, and pipes. He noted that the investment amounted to $70 million, and the plant, which is being built in Yeraskh by GTB Steel LLC, will be built on an area of 16,500 square meters, the y-o-y production volume will be about 180 thousand tons. "The construction of the plant is already underway, 200 people are involved, and after its launch the number of employees will reach 1000 people," Kerobyan said.
Baku actively opposed the development of the plant. Enemy forces consistently hold the enterprise under intense fire. The so-called were also brought into play, in particular, in July, the Azerbaijani government officially appealed to Armenia with a demand to stop the construction of a large metallurgical plant in Yeraskh, Ararat region of the Republic of Armenia. A letter from the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan to the Minister of Environment of Armenia stated that the operation of metallurgical plants is recognized as an activity "that may cause a significant negative transboundary impact." It also turned out that Armenia was also obliged to inform Azerbaijan about the construction of this plant in advance. Already at the end of October, the head of the RA Ministry of Economy admitted that the plant would be relocated. The new location, according to the minister, is not far from the originally chosen location. "We are dealing with private investments. Therefore, investors themselves determine their next steps and actions. We, taking into account the geographical location and regional situation, are trying to be as useful as possible for them," Kerobyan emphasized.
