ArmInfo.On the part of the Investigation Committee of Armenia, there are constant injections of unfinished information regarding the inspection process at South Caucasus Railway CJSC. This is stated in the statement of the SCR, received by ArmInfo.
According to the source, from the point of view of exercising the powers and functions of the investigating authorities, the purpose of these stuffing is not entirely clear. "They only form a negative emotional background in the society of Armenia, they cannot solve other problems in principle. These publications allow us to argue about the biasedness of the investigating authorities, and in general the process does not contribute to efficient interaction, "the statement reads.
At the same time, the company recognizes the possibility of any issues to its work. "But such principles of conducting the investigation are incorrect and become the reason for biased assessments of the work of the SCR"," the statement reads.
The reason for the start of inspections in August of the current year, as the company clarifies, was allegedly the non-payment of taxes by the company in the amount of $ 20,000, when at that time the advance payment on tax deductions from SCR was about $ 1 million.
"In general, over the 10 years of the work of the SCR, the total time of inspections by the tax authorities in the company was 3 years. By the end of 2018, the amount of taxes paid to the state budget of the republic will exceed 4 billion drams, while in 2008 they amounted to about 1.6 billion drams. That is, over 10 years, the annual contributions of the SCR to the state treasury increased by more than 2.5 times.
Various commentators, assessing the results of the company's activities for 10 years, do not even bother to get acquainted with the resolution of the Government of Armenia No. 1497-H of October 2006. According to the document, as of 2006, the volume of lost investments by the railway amounted to $ 250 million.
At the same time, over the 10 years of SCR activity, the number of transport events (security status indicator) on the railway has decreased by 6 times, the failures of technical means of power supply - by 4 times, the failures of technical means of railway automation - by 10 times. The average train speed increased from 25 km / h to 60 km / h (in places and up to 100 km / h), 8 large station complexes were modernized, labor productivity increased by 46%, average wages increased by more than 75%, technologies were introduced previously not used in Armenia. In particular, it is the repair of diesel locomotives, electric locomotives and electric trains according to the Russian Railways standards.
The complex of these measures led to a multiple decrease in emergency events. So, if in the first year of the SCR operation, in 2008, 151 gatherings of organized trains (including 4 passenger trains) were recorded on the railway, then in 2017 - 1 case, and that is not the fault of the SCR employees.
Work is also underway to upgrade rolling stock. In 2018, the company purchased two new electric trains (the first one is already running between Yerevan and Gyumri, the second one will come into operation at the beginning of 2019), 40 new gondola cars were purchased - one of the most popular types of cars on the Armenian railways.
Our focus is not only on production processes, but also on social programs. About $ 700 thousand was spent for these purposes for 10 years. The annual fund of social support for the staff of the team is 20 million drams.
Based on the principles of corporate social responsibility, the company retains its staff, while according to the aforementioned government decree of 2006, the number of employees of the railway by 2011 should have been significantly less.
Evaluating the work of the SCR in a difficult 2018, I can say that we are closing the year successfully. All production figures are higher than planned. Consideration is given to awarding a collective according to the results of work for the year, "the statement says. To note, on December 25, the Investigation Committee of Armenia announced about checks of the effectiveness of the investments of South Caucasus Railway CJSC (SCR) in the amount of $ 226.8 million. Inspections are carried out in the framework of a criminal case investigated by the head office for the investigation of particularly important cases of the IC, in order to clarify all the circumstances of abuses recorded in CJSC South Caucasus Railway (SCR), identify the circle of persons involved and identify their actions. The subject of the investigation is the ten-year activity of the SCR; the effectiveness and legitimacy of investments worth 110 billion drams is being checked. To recall, the CJSC South Caucasus Railway is a 100% subsidiary of Russian Railways OJSC and carries out concession management of Armenian railways. The railway infrastructure of Armenia was transferred to the concession management of CJSC SCR according to the concession agreement signed on February 13, 2008. The term of concession management is 30 years with the right to prolong for another 10 years.