Friday, September 27 2019 20:03

ArmInfo. China intends to  complete construction of the third tranche of the section of the  North-South Transport Corridor Investment Program in the specified  new timeframe. The Chinese ambassador to Armenia Tian Erlong said  this on September 27 at a press conference in Yerevan answering the  question of ArmInfo.

The Chinese diplomat emphasized that the PRC is well aware of the  significance of the North-South road for Armenia, including in terms  of logistics development. "Unfortunately, the third tranche of the  project - a road section of about 43 km, which is being built by the  Chinese company Sinohydro Corporation, is being delayed for objective  and subjective reasons. An agreement was signed with the Armenian  government on new deadlines for the completion of construction, and  the Chinese side intends and is committed to complete construction in  the specified new terms and within the framework of the undertaken  obligations, "the diplomat said.

Moreover, according to the diplomat, China intends to participate in  the construction of the fourth tranche, either as a contractor  company or as a partial co-financier. According to him, relevant  opportunities are being studied in this direction.

It should be noted that within the framework of the "Investment  program of the North-South transport corridor" - Tranche-3, which is  carried out by a Chinese company, problems were recorded related to  both the timing of the construction work and its quality. The  contractor company assured that in order to ensure high quality and  pace of construction, the corresponding work was done, additional  forces were attracted, the number of construction equipment was  increased.

To recall, the project of the North-South transport corridor with a  total length of 556 km will allow access to the Black Sea and  European countries through the territory of Armenia  (Meghri-Kapan-Goris-Yerevan- Ashtarak-Gyumri-Bavra) and Georgia. The  investment program is aimed at ensuring communication between the  north (border with Georgia) and the south of Armenia (border with  Iran) through transport communications that meet high international  standards, and access to world markets.

Tenders for the construction of the first few lines of the route were  won by the Spanish Corsan Corviam, the last tender (for the  Lanjik-Gyumri section in northern Armenia) was won by the Chinese  Sinohydro Corporation. With the latter, the Ministry of Transport and  Communications of Armenia signed a contract in May 2016 in the amount  of about $ 60 million as part of the 3rd tranche of the investment  program. The Kajaran-Agarak project will be the fourth section of the  North-South project. Within the framework of the project, it is  planned to rebuild the trunk routes of Armenia from the Iranian to  Georgian borders. Partially they will be rebuilt from asphalt to  concrete, partly - will be expanded. And in some sections straight  sections will be built instead of roundabouts in the mountains.

The construction of the corridor was originally planned to be  completed in 2019. Meanwhile, on September 4, at a meeting with  reporters, former Minister of Transport, Communications and  Information Technologies of the Republic of Armenia Ashot Hakobyan  stated that the implementation of the investment program for the  construction of the North-South transport corridor could take another  5 to 10 years.  According to him, the timing of the project will  depend on the funding, pace and quality of the program.  According to  the former minister, the construction will cost $ 2 billion, since  only its southern section, between the cities of Artashat and Meghri,  according to preliminary estimates, will cost about $ 1.5 billion.   Meanwhile, 6 years ago, in September 2012, when the construction of  the highway began, the amount that the representatives of the  Armenian government called was more than half less- $ 962 million.