Minister: During 2020, the Armenian government will determine the  mechanisms for the construction of new metro stations in Yerevan

ArmInfo. During 2020, the  Armenian government will determine the mechanisms for the  construction of new metro stations in Yerevan. The Minister of  Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of  Armenia Suren Papikyan announced this during the parliamentary  hearings on the implementation of the 2019 budget on June 10.

According to him, various financing schemes for the project are being  discussed - from state financing to attracting private investors and  public-private partnerships. Suren Papikyan reminded that 2 billion  drams have been allocated from the state budget for the modernization  of the existing Yerevan metro stations. 

As of today, only 14% of these funds have been used, which is  associated with the spread of coronavirus.  He expressed hope that  construction work will resume this year. The construction is carried  out by a Spanish company that won the tender. However, during the  implementation of the project the problem associated with the  accumulation of groundwater is already obvious, there is even a small  river. The solution to this issue will allow to intensify the  construction process.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported on the development of design estimates for  the new Yerevan metro station. A project is currently being discussed  with the investor for the construction of a station and a bridge  across the Hrazdan River. An agreement has been reached that the  investor will finance all work on the development of design estimates  for this program. After that, based on the price of the issue,  construction will begin. Based on the business model that the  investor offers, a business center and a shopping center will operate  next to the future station. Recently, a group of metro builders, who  were invited by an investor, and who conducted research both in the  Hrazdan Gorge and on the site of the future tunnel, visited Yerevan.  It is planned, in particular, that the new metro station will be  located on the bridge, above the Hrazdan Gorge, which will ensure  continued construction work in the tunnel in the future and the  construction of another station.

To note, an average of $ 1 million of investments is needed for 1 km  of the metro line. However, in the case of the new station, the  amount may turn out to be much smaller, since a significant amount of  work has already been completed in previous years.

Earlier, the city authorities have repeatedly said that the  construction of a new station should be an investment project, and  not a credit program. Within the framework of this program, the  investor will build a station, having received in return an  opportunity for business activities in adjacent territories. There  are sketches of a multifunctional complex on the territory of the  metropolitan district Ajapnyak. Near the new station, it is planned  to erect shopping and entertainment complexes and build residential  buildings.

Yerevan metro named after Karen Demirchyan was founded in 1981. In  total, there are ten metro stations in Yerevan with a total length of  13.4 kilometers.