Wednesday, June 2 2021 12:49

ArmInfo.On the second day of her visit to Syunik region, the head of the European Union office in Armenia Andrea Wiktorin visited Meghri.

As reported by the press service of the EU office in Armenia, at the  Armenian-Iranian state border, the Ambassador met with  representatives of the State Revenue Committee of the republic to  discuss the planned work on the modernization of the border  checkpoint in Meghri, financed by the EU in partnership with the  EBRD.

According to the report, Wiktorin stressed the importance of this key  connectivity program for the EU, EBRD and the citizens of Armenia.  The parties agreed to start building the checkpoint as soon as  possible.  As ArmInfo wrote earlier, the European Bank for  Reconstruction and Development will provide Armenia with a loan of  10.6 million euros for the modernization of the Meghri checkpoint on  the Armenian-Iranian border.

The agreement with the Bank was signed on February 7, 2020. The total  cost of the modernization program will amount to 21.1 million euros,  of which the EBRD will provide the republic with a loan of 10.6  million euros on the terms of Libor + 1%, which is 1.7% in half-year  terms. Most of the funding will come from grant funds. As a result of  the implementation of the program, the checkpoint will be expanded  from the current 6.6 hectares to 8.8 hectares. The capacity will  increase from 300 cars per day to 900. The entire project is expected  to be completed in late 2022 - early 2023. Mechanisms corresponding  to international standards will be applied at the checkpoint -  phytosanitary, customs, etc. The modernized checkpoint should be an  important part of the North-South transport corridor. In addition, it  will contribute to the growth of trade between Iran and Armenia, Iran  with the EAEU countries, and the EAEU countries with Iran.

Let us also remind that the EBRD and the European Union will provide  Armenia 21,146,263 euros for the modernization and expansion of the  Meghri checkpoint on the Armenian-Iranian border. More than half of  the total amount - 10,520,000 euros and 700,000 euros - will be  provided as a grant by the European Union within the framework of the  European Neighborhood Policy.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that with the financial support of the EU  and the European Investment Bank, within the framework of the United  Nations Development Program (UNDP), three checkpoints on the state  border of Armenia were modernized: "Bagratashen", "Bavra" and  "Gogavan". The total budget for the modernization of these three  checkpoints was 54.43 million euros. According to the information of  the EU delegation in Armenia, within the framework of the program,  the Armenian government received a loan from the EU in the amount of  30.8 million euros, grants for 17.2 million euros. The co-financing  of the Armenian government amounted to 4.44 million euros. UNDP  financial investments amounted to EUR 1.9 million.