North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

[Mher]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

While I support this type of growth, I wish Armenian companies would get involved to decrease the unemployment numbers.

I don't believe there is a company in Armenia to take on this size of a project. There are only a few dozen such companies in the world. The company they have working on the North-South Highway is a major global company that has done many such projects.

It doesn't really matter much who manages the project because construction work is going to require a local work force and the same local people would have to be hired regardless of who is in charge.

There'll be a difference as far as a handful of specialized engineering and management jobs, but as far as the bulk of construction jobs are concerned, there wouldn't be a difference.

[Shant03]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

While I support this type of growth, I wish Armenian companies would get involved to decrease the unemployment numbers.

[Mher]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

Yerevan Expects Chinese Support For Iran-Armenia Rail Link

Emil Danielyan
Հրապարակված է՝ 27.03.2015

President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday called for an “active” Chinese involvement in the realization of his government’s ambitious plans to build a railway connecting Armenia with neighboring Iran.

Speaking on the third day of his state visit to Beijing, Sarkisian said the 470-kilometer railway could be part of a transnational “Silk Road economic zone” which China would like to set up along a vast geographic area.

“In this regard, Armenia expects an active participation of Chinese companies in the construction of the Armenia-Iran railway,” he said in a speech at Peking University. “That will ensure the region’s even development, which is fully in tune with China’s ‘peace for development’ motto.”

“At the same time, that would ensure China’s strong presence in the South Caucasus region and give impetus to bilateral China-Armenia relations,” added Sarkisian.

A Chinese firm, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), is already involved in the extremely ambitious project, having conducted a feasibility study and recommended a cost-effective route for the rail link. The study was commissioned in 2013 by Rasia FZE, a Dubai-based investment company. The latter had in turn a received 30-year Armenian government concession to build and manage the 305-kilometer section of the railway that would pass through Armenia.

Earlier this year, Armenia’s Deputy Transport Minister Artur Arakelian said that Rasia has been holding “very active negotiations” with unnamed Chinese investors interested in financing work on the Armenian section, which would cost an estimated $3 billion.

Visiting Yerevan in late January, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke of further progress made towards the construction of the railway. “There have been very good trilateral discussions and good decisions and we hope that [the project] will quickly move forward,” Zarif said without elaborating.

According to Sarkisian’s press office, the railway project was on the agenda of the Armenian president’s talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held on Thursday. The office did not report any concrete agreements to that effect reached by the two men.

Addressing Peking University students and professors, Sarkisian touted Armenia’s
“dynamically developing friendly relations” with China that were underlined by his joint declaration with Chinese President Xi Jinping adopted on Wednesday. Closer ties with Beijing are “one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy,” he said.

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/26924486.html

[Mher]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

Government approves amended agreement on privatization of Vorotan power plant

YEREVAN, February 19. / ARKA /. The Armenian government has approved today the updated and amended agreement on the privatization of Vorotan cascade of hydropower plants, signed last year with a US-based company.

The deal was signed on January 29 with ContourGlobal, a US-based company under which ContourGlobal is to purchase and modernize the Vorotan Hydro Cascade, a series of three hydroelectric power plants totaling 405 MW on the Vorotan River in southern Armenia, for a purchase price of $180 million. But the deal was not finalized. Officials would say it would be finalized after the sides reconciled some technical and pricing issues.

Energy and natural resources minister Yervand Zakharyan said at a Cabinet session today that the contract was revised 'for a balanced regulation of relations between the sides.'

This will be the largest single U.S. private investment in Armenia's history and the first U.S. investment in Armenia's energy sector. The Vorotan Hydro Cascade accounts for roughly 15 percent of the installed capacity of Armenia's electricity system and provides sufficient energy to power 250,000 homes.


Under the terms of the agreement, ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade, a direct and wholly owned subsidiary of ContourGlobal, will own and operate the three hydroelectric facilities located on the Vorotan river and will supply power to the Armenian grid under a long-term power purchase agreement.

ContourGlobal will also invest $70 million over the next six years in a refurbishment program to modernize the plants and improve their operational performance, safety, reliability, and efficiency. ContourGlobal expects the modernization to create 150 near-term jobs in addition to the 150 long-term technicians employed at the plants.

http://arka.am/en/news/business/government_approves_amended_agreement_on_privatization_of_vorotan_power_plant/#sthash.dGs6VXBA.dpuf

Though foreign ownership of the country's infrastructure is not usually something to be celebrated, it is at least a positive thing that it is not owned by Russia as it creates some diversification, and small amount of independence from total Russian control.

[Mher]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

Progress of Construction Works of North-South Road Corridor as of 14 January
14.01.2015

Concrete pavement works on 31km section from Artashat to Ashtarak of North-South Road Corridor is completed and is at the stage of tests and laboratory testing as well as joint implementation and utility and corresponding furnishing works are in progress. Designs for construction works of new overpasses and junctions at Marmarashen and Burastan communities of the RA Ararat region as well as the designs for reconstruction of the existing crossings are ordered and are at the completion stage. They are envisaged to be implemented by the end of 2015. Based on the aforementioned and taking into consideration the necessity of construction of the new crossings, the above section of Tranche 1 will be put in full operation by the end of 2015. At 41km section of Ashtarak-Talin land acquisition works are being completed. Since 2013 land, utility and archaeological works are launched and all the works are envisaged to be completed by 2017.

Loan Agreements with Asian Development and European Investment Banks are ratified and international tenders will be announced at the beginning of 2015 for the construction of Talin-Lanjik 18.7 km and Lanjik-Gyumri 27.5 km sections accordingly.

The ordering of designs for about 300km and 70km sections of Artashat-Qajaran and Gyumri-Bavra is in process which will be followed by the implementation of the construction works by splitting the mentioned section into 30-70km-long segments and working on them in parallel to save time.

Feasibility study of about 50km section of Qajaran-Agarak (Iranian Border) is approved. It is envisaged to reduce it by 40km by the construction of a tunnel of 4.7km. At the same time negotiations with Anti-Crisis Fund of Eurasian Development Bank are finalized and in 2015 the Project will be launched at the southern border of Armenia.

Negotiations are conducted with current donors and new financial sources are considered, in particular in the framework of cooperation between private investors and Public-Private Partnership.

Negotiates are conducted with Iran on the possibility of construction of a similar road there which will be linked to North-South Corridor and will raise interest of international cargo transportation in the Project.

During the official visit to Asian Development Bank from 15 to 17 September 2014 the necessity of implementation of projects aimed at improvement of Georgian roads linking with Armenia was discussed. In particular: the improvement of 285km-long road from Bavra to Batumi passing through Khulo settlement which will reduce the road to Batumi port by 170 km. This will significantly reduce the prime cost of cargo transportation.

The above is also acceptable by Asian Development Bank and the latter will take all possible measures to raise interest of Georgia and to bring them to life. Project for improvement of about 25km section of the road passing through Khulo settlement is initiated in Georgia.

It can be stated that the main objectives of the Project are outlined, i.e. sustainable realization of prospective of establishing economically and strategically efficient transit zone for the region.

It can also be stated that it would be possible to complete the Project by the end of 2019 by engaging different Contractors to work in parallel on different sections of North-South Road Corridor.

http://northsouth.am/en/news/show/73/0

[Tsov]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

North South Highway: Briefing on work that has been done

[Mher]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

Government Refuses Funding For Street Repairs In Gyumri



The Armenian government has refused to finance badly needed repairs of battered streets in Gyumri, sparking allegations of retribution against local residents who overwhelmingly voted against President Serzh Sarkisian’s reelection.

The roads passing through Armenia’s second largest city have been in an increasingly poor condition in the last few years. More than 80 percent of them are now dotted with deep potholes and thick layers of mud. Some are practically impassable, placing residents of nearby buildings beyond the reach of public transport and taxis.

The cash-strapped Gyumri municipality estimates that as much as $80 million is needed for resurfacing the local road infrastructure. Its entire annual budget is equivalent to only $6.5 million.

With its tacit approval, the municipal council recently drew up a list of six major streets that are in a particularly urgent need of repairs that would cost 1.2 billion drams ($2.6 million). The council asked the central government to finance the road works.

Levon Barseghian, a councilor and prominent civil rights campaigner, said on Tuesday that the authorities in Yerevan have rejected the plea by citing a lack of funds. In his words, Davit Harutiunian, the chief of Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian’s staff, told the council in a letter that the municipality itself should take care of Gyumri’s streets.

Barseghian dismissed the official explanation as “ridiculous.” He argued that the Armenian authorities spent in 2014 much larger sums on repaving many streets in Yerevan that were in a much better condition than most Gyumri roads.

“Every provincial community would dream about having the kind of roads that Yerevan has,” Barseghian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). “Per capita spending on road repairs in Yerevan has been 2.5 to 6 times higher than in Gyumri.”

His anger is shared by many ordinary Gyumri residents having to trudge through mud on a daily basis. “There is mud all over the place,” complained one woman. “We can’t live like this anymore.”

Echoing a growing sentiment in the city still reeling from a catastrophic 1988 earthquake, Barseghian claimed that local residents are paying the price for President Sarkisian’s extremely poor showing in Gyumri during Armenia’s last presidential election held in February 2013. Most of them voted for the main opposition candidate, Raffi Hovannisian, in that ballot.

The government fuelled this conspiracy theory after effectively freezing the protracted construction of new homes for thousands of Gyumri residents huddling in temporary shelter more than 26 years after the earthquake. It had pledged to complete the process by 2013. Some 1,500 families remain on the local waiting list for free housing, however.

The government said recently that it will give them cash to buy new apartments, instead of financing more housing construction.But it has yet to specify financial details of the promised scheme.

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/26770239.html

[Mher]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

I hope you did get that this will be a airport in Iran, but what effect do you think it will have? Maybe more visitors from all over Iran to casinos in Meghri?

yeah i understand, but still Iran doesn't have a lot of financial resources right now. Building an airport is not very simple or cheap. Still though it should be a help to the meghri region.

[Tsov]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

I hope they follow through on the project. Iran's government since Ahmadinejad has a tendency to announce or start a lot of projects and not finish them nearly on time or at all. Right now Iran's government is in a lot of trouble in terms of currency. I doubt this is something that is going to happen because of the oil prices. Not until very least there's a nuclear agreement.

But if does it would be great for the Meghri region and will make the north-south corridor more viable

I hope you did get that this will be a airport in Iran, but what effect do you think it will have? Maybe more visitors from all over Iran to casinos in Meghri?

[Mher]

Re: North-South Highway/Iran-Armenia Railway

I wonder what this will mean for these projects.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/788242...medium=twitter

I hope they follow through on the project. Iran's government since Ahmadinejad has a tendency to announce or start a lot of projects and not finish them nearly on time or at all. Right now Iran's government is in a lot of trouble in terms of currency. I doubt this is something that is going to happen because of the oil prices. Not until very least there's a nuclear agreement.

But if does it would be great for the Meghri region and will make the north-south corridor more viable