ArmInfo. The early completion of the construction of the North- South highway is of geopolitical importance for Armenia, although, of course, one should not attach secondary importance to the economic effect of this project, which must be implemented very efficiently. Vardan Voskanyan, Head of the Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University, expressed such an opinion to ArmInfo,
"North-South" is of great importance to us, given that this artery is a component of the Iran-Armenia- Georgia transport corridor connecting the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea. In this light, the Armenian government will have to organize work in the direction of bringing the existing infrastructure in a state corresponding to the importance of this project, first of all for ourselves, "he stressed. The construction of the North-South highway will reduce the distance from the Iranian to Georgian borders from 556 to 490 kilometers. The motorway will significantly facilitate access to the Black Sea not only for Armenia, but also for Iran. The project is funded by loans provided by the Asian Development Bank. The corresponding agreement with ADB on the provision of half a billion dollars was signed by the Armenian government in September 2009. To date, only part of the work has been completed. In general, the project is estimated at $ 1-2 billion according to various estimates.
According to the expert in Iranian studies, the safest in all senses route connecting the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea passes through the territory of Armenia. Accordingly, Yerevan should actively advance this project, given Iran's repeatedly voiced interest. Voskanyan is convinced that North-South, thereby, provides a full-fledged alternative for both Armenia and Iran with Georgia. The expert emphasized the importance of the early operation of the corridor for Armenia, due to its closed borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. In turn, Tehran, according to its estimates, is also interested in the appearance of an alternative to the Turkish and Azerbaijani transit routes to Europe.