Trade outlet owners continue protest in central Yerevan

ArmInfo. Since early morning,  the owners of retail outlets have once again gathered in front of the  Haypost building, which will be modernized into the World Trade  Center.  They demand that the Armenian authorities provide them with  a new retail space.

As the participants of the protest told journalists, the Renshin  company notified them that they must completely vacate the building  by August 19. Meanwhile, the owners of the retail spaces, who have  been renting outlets in the Haypost building for several decades, do  not agree with this state of affairs and do not intend to leave the  territory until they are provided with a new retail space.

According to them, they have written a collective letter to the Prime  Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, asking him to resolve the  current hopeless situation. The owners of the retail outlets  emphasized that they do not intend to stop the protests until they  receive a response from the head of the Armenian government.

On April 30, 2024, the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia  Gevorg Papoyan and the General Director of Renshin LLC Eduard  Marutyan signed an agreement on the implementation of the project for  the construction of the World Trade Center in Yerevan. At the same  time, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Government of the  Republic of Armenia, Renshin LLC and HayPost CJSC, according to which  World Trade Center Yerevan CJSC will be established.

The decision to participate in the urban development project for the  construction of the World Trade Center (WTC) and the establishment of  the World Trade Center Yerevan Closed Joint-Stock Company was  approved by the decision of the executive authority on September 7,  2023.

Earlier, it was reported that the implementation of the program was  to begin on January 1, 2024, and be completed on December 31, 2028.  The total area of the center will be about 15,970 sq.m. The Ministry  of Economy of the Republic noted that the implementation of the  project is of great importance, since the total estimated cost of  construction is almost $212 million. Thanks to the initiative, it is  planned to create at least 10 thousand new jobs. In addition, tax  payments to the municipal budget will increase significantly.