North-South road corridor of double importance for Armenia

ArmInfo. The creation of the North-South road corridor for will be of double importance for  Armenia, Alexander Zaboev, head of the Center for Integration Studies of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), said this on the sidelines of the EDB Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Almaty in an interview  with ArmInfo.

According to him, on the one hand, this is the end-to-end  connectivity of the country, which is important for socio-economic  development. "On the other hand, this will open up opportunities for  the transit of goods from Iran in the direction of Georgia, in the  direction of Russia and the countries of the Black Sea region.  Therefore, this use of trade and transit potential will have the  effect of increasing transit traffic," Zaboev believes.

At the same time, he noted the importance of the fact that in  addition to the North-South road corridor, the TRACECA corridor runs  through the territory of Armenia, one of the elements of which, in  fact, is the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM or  Middle Corridor, Middle Corridor - Ed.). "They connect in Georgia, so  the connection of these two routes, these cargo flows will also allow  us to obtain an additional effect. For the Trans-Caspian route, for  example, countries are developing port infrastructure - Poti, Batumi,  and a new port will be built. Therefore, the development of this  direction for Armenia is also very important," says the Bank  representative.

In this vein, he drew attention to the fact that Armenia receives a  lot of imported cargo, and sends export cargo through the Black Sea  ports. "Therefore, the development of their infrastructure provides  new opportunities for Armenia, including the development of cargo  flows. In addition, improving the infrastructure means reducing  transport costs, increasing the competitiveness of goods produced in  Armenia, and reducing the cost of imported goods for citizens of  Armenia. This will include indirect economic effects," Zaboev noted.

At the same time, he considered it important from the point of view  of investment projects not only this corridor, but also other price  lists. "For example, a good project for the development of a  logistics hub in Gyumri (dry port - Ed.). If corridors are developed,  then cargo unloading and storage points will be needed accordingly.  The creation of cold warehouses for storing fruits and vegetables  will also contribute to the realization of export potential Armenia,"  added the Bank representative.

And the last thing, according to Zaboev, is the use of the country's  air transport potential. The expert noted that for several years now  the capital's Zvartnots airport has turned into an international hub  where passengers transfer. "Therefore, it is necessary to build up  this potential, which, by and large, is a net export of transport  services. But, for its development, it is necessary to increase the  potential of Armenian national carriers, increase the air fleet, and  attract new airlines. This, in turn, will allow us to receive  additional fees for aviation services and other services. All this is  additional income through the export of transport services," the Bank  representative emphasized, adding that all of the above allows  creating new jobs, and this in turn increases the well-being of the  population.

Regarding the Middle Corridor, Zaboev noted that he perceives this  project as a standard line, already in use, from the Azerbaijani port  of Alyat to Tbilisi, and further - Georgian ports - Turkey.  "Therefore, if we talk about the throughput capacity of this part of  the Middle Corridor, then it does not pose any strategic risks for  Armenia. In addition, as I already said, the development of Georgian  ports is also interesting for Armenia, since it also uses these  ports," he noted Zaboev, while noting that now we are talking about  modernizing the existing line, especially in a section with low  capacity in Georgia.