ArmInfo. During a meeting with voters in the village of Goght in the Kotayk Province, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan once again raised the need to change the management logic of the country's railway concession.
According to him, this step is necessary to prevent international sanctions from hindering the development of the country's railway system. The Prime Minister recalled that Turkey is currently constructing the Kars– Igdir–Dilucu railway—extending from Kars to Nakhichevan—whereas Armenia already has a fully ready, operational railway infrastructure that needs to be utilized.
Pashinyan emphasized that following extensive assessments, the Armenian government concluded that the obstacle lies within the existing concession management model for the Armenian railway "Since the Armenian railway is under a Russian concession, and Russia has a complex sanctions relationship with Western nations, those same Western countries are seeking ways to bypass it," he noted, adding that international companies are actively trying to avoid sanctions risks and are looking for safe routes.
"We believe that we absolutely must change the concession logic of Armenian railways, which, by the way, are 100% owned by the Republic of Armenia. This is necessary to ensure that the sanctions obstacle does not become a barrier for our railways," Pashinyan said. He added that Armenia will continue working with partners, including Russia, in this direction.
He also stated that the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and railway is expected in the next phase. "In any case, the flow of goods from east to west will be so massive that I am convinced our railway will operate at a high capacity and generate significant revenue for the republic," the Prime Minister remarked. Furthermore, he noted that international partners have evaluated the road routes passing through Armenian territory and concluded that the shortest path from east to west runs through the Tavush, Lori, and Shirak provinces. "There is major investment interest in developing roads from Tavush to Shirak and establishing toll roads for cargo trucks," Pashinyan said, noting that these projects would bring additional revenue to Armenia.
Recall, currently, Armenia's railway system is managed by Russia through the "South Caucasus Railway" company. The Prime Minister has previously spoken on this topic, noting that Russian management of the concession deprives Armenia of certain competitive advantages, and suggested transferring the concession management to a third country friendly to both Armenia and Russia. The Russian side has already stated that it does not consider transferring the management of the railway concession to a third country to be viable.
