ArmInfo. The most important sectors of the Armenian economy, which are of strategic importance for the republic and capable of providing it with long-term and stable economic growth, are targeted by Baku.
Vardan Janyan, First Deputy General Director of Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine CJSC (ZCMC), President of the Union of Miners and Metallurgists of Armenia stated on January 29 b during a discussion on the topic "Trends in the economic development of the Republic of Armenia in the context of the economic distribution of large taxpayers" at the Club of Economic Journalists.
Janyan draws attention to the fact that Azerbaijan does not "target" Armenian importing companies. Meanwhile, the mining and energy industries are at the epicenter of Baku's anxiety. This is due to the fact that importing companies do not ensure long-term sustainable development. The expert recalls that back in 2022, Azerbaijan began a campaign against the mining industry of Artsakh, with the far-fetched problem of the Kashen mine, and then, when it seemed to them that the issue with Artsakh was already closed, they switched to Armenian enterprises, for example, to Lydian Armenia, which is preparing to restart, and even to the Armenian nuclear power plant.
"In the future, even during the construction of some enterprise in Yerevan, they may declare that it "pollutes the rivers flowing into the Araks, and this affects Azerbaijan," Janyan said.
The expert notes an "interesting trend". Thus, until the end of 2021, Azerbaijan was not so active in this issue. In his opinion, this is due to the fact that much greater economic growth is registered in Armenia than in Azerbaijan. "If before 2017-18 there were no concerns about Armenia's ability to economically compete with Azerbaijan, now this danger is real, because we surpass them in economic growth rates, even in GDP per capita. Naturally, they understand that this will also lead to the formation of a new military balance. Therefore, they are now waging a hybrid war against Armenia," concluded the President of Union of Miners and Metallurgists of Armenia.
In the summer of 2023, 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. 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." On December 14, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to move the plant to the village of Ararat, Ararat region. The GTB Steel company, which was forced to move the metallurgical plant project from Yeraskh to the city of Ararat, received a loan of 3.5 billion drams from the RA government.
