ArmInfo. The investment program of modernization of the "Shirak" airport in the second city of Armenia - Gyumri is delayed due to the uncertainty of the fate of the building of cultural and historical significance. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said this on February 12 to the MPs of the Armenian parliament.
According to him, in Davos, at the World Economic Forum, he received assurances from head of the "Corporacion America" Eduardo Eurnekian, in trust of which both airports of Armenia are located, that the entire investment program will be executed on time and with proper quality. As Nikol Pashinyan noted, the development of design and estimate documentation is delayed due to the ambiguity of the fate of the historic building at the "Shirak" airport. Nevertheless, the concessionaire promises to significantly increase the number of budget airlines operating flights to Gyumri.
As for Yerevan "Zvartnots" airport, then, as Nikol Pashinyan noted, there is a similar situation with the cultural monument. The main airport of the country is already approaching the limit of the number of air passengers, and there is a need to expand it. The Prime Minister agreed that the company's monopoly position does not contribute to the growth of air traffic. But, according to him, this inherited the current government, and the current government is responsible for fulfilling its obligations. "In any case, the situation must be managed on line mode. And if there are no real changes and improvements, it will be necessary to think about the mistakes," the head of government stressed.
Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the RA government at a meeting on December 27 last year approved a master plan for 2018-2022, presented by the concessionaire in the person of the Argentine company "Corporacion America". According to the master plan, the International Airports of Armenia company will invest $ 38.2 million in the modernization of Zvartnots airports in Yerevan and Shirak in Gyumri. The presented document does not yet provide for the demolition of the old building of Zvartnots airport.
This issue will be the subject of additional discussions. In accordance with the plan, due to the projected growth in passenger traffic, it will be necessary to make investments to expand the runway, equip additional aircraft hangars, upgrade the apron cover, and upgrade lighting systems. In particular, the length of the runway will be increased to 2,850 meters, and the width to 45 meters. It is also planned to lay 12 km of fiber-optic communication cables and install the latest video surveillance systems.
At the "Shirak" airport it is planned to modernize the apron, a part of the airfield for receiving aircraft of greater carrying capacity, which will make it possible to take off and land with Boeing and Airbus class aircraft. In total it is necessary to modernize an area of 22 thousand square meters. In 2016-2017 traffic volumes through Gyumri "Shirak" airport increased 8 times. Currently, about 105 thousand air passengers use the airport services annually. Basically, transportation is carried out by low-cost airlines, in particular, the Russian Pobeda airline. The project will allow receiving and sending larger aircraft. The implementation of the master plan will allow the main air ports of Armenia to be brought into line with the standards of the ICAO - the international civil aviation organization. To recall, in December 2001, the Armenian government signed with the Argentinean company "Corporacion America", owned by Eduardo Eurnekian,, on the concession management of the Zvartnots airport for a period of 30 years. Later, a similar agreement was signed in relation to the Shirak airport. As of today, the total investment in the modernization of the two airports exceeded $ 160 million.