European Investment Bank to provide EUR 4.25 million grant to Armenia  to improve road safety 

ArmInfo. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide Armenia with a grant of 4 million 250 thousand euros to improve road safety, in particular on the M-6 road  section and in the south. On November 7, the Armenian government  approved the proposal to sign the corresponding grant agreement.

According to the Deputy Minister of Territorial Development and  Infrastructures Vache Terteryan, presenting the draft decision, the  purpose of the agreement is to ensure road safety, landscaping roads  in parallel with large-scale road works - in accordance with modern  safety standards.

According to him, the government aims to reduce road accidents and  reduce the proportion of severe cases as a result of accidents. To do  this, as the deputy minister pointed out, the most dangerous sections  of the road should be identified first, relevant projects prepared,  it is also possible that the responsible structures will resort to  work to prevent rockfalls.

So, according to the draft decision, the funds will be used to  improve road safety on the M-2 (Yerevan- Meghri), M-4  (Yerevan-Ijevan), M-5 (Yerevan-Armavir-Turkish border), M-12 (Goris  -Artsakh), M-17 (Kapan-Tsav-M-2), H-8 (Yerevan-Artashat-Aydevan).   Perhaps other sections will also be included in the program where  similar tasks will be identified.

Earlier, in June this year ArmInfo reported that technical assistance  to the EU to improve Armenia's road safety program began in Yerevan.   According to the Organization for the Implementation of Transport  Programs SNCO, the European Investment Bank (EIB) allocated a grant  of 5.15 million euros to Armenia, of which 0.65 million euros for  technical assistance (consulting services), 4.25 million euros for  for construction work and 0.25 million euros for other organizational  expenses. According to Alexander Bakhtamyan, coordinator of technical  assistance programs for the European Investment Bank in Armenia and  Georgia, within the framework of the program aimed at improving road  safety, a consortium involving CESTRA (Serbia), COWI (Denmark)  companies will provide technical support services to the program  SWEROAD (Sweden).

As part of the technical support, it is planned to review existing  projects to improve hazardous areas selected on roads, develop new  projects, carry out technical control of construction work to improve  hazardous areas, identify other hazardous areas, organize courses on  road safety, prepare and certify road safety auditors to carry out  other activities. In addition, the current road design standards in  Armenia will be reviewed and modernized in order to bring them into  line with the European Union and international experience in terms of  road safety. The grant is planned to be completed within 1.5 years -  at the end of 2020.

Recall that the European Investment Bank is a state financial  institution of the European Union to finance the development of  backward European regions in the form of long-term loans. It was  created in 1958 with the aim of providing loans for the construction  and reconstruction of facilities that are of interest to the EU  countries. The authorized capital is formed from contributions of  member countries and amounts to 232.393 billion euros. The European  Investment Bank accounts for 3.5% of the external debt of Armenia,  which is about $ 904 million. The Bank participates in the solid  waste recycling program in Armenia, in technical assistance to  improve road safety and other infrastructure projects.