Armenia has discussed financing the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran section under the fourth tranche of the North-South Transport Corridor Investment Program with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
On Wednesday, July 17, Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan met with a delegation from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) led by Deputy Executive Director Llewellyn Charles Roberts.
During the meeting, the parties discussed current cooperation issues between Armenia and ADB, particularly the status of the country partnership framework document and the possible timing of its approval by the ADB Board of Directors.
In response to the minister's inquiry, the Deputy Executive Director stated that the budget support program currently under discussion with ADB would be presented to the ADB Board of Directors in September.
The interlocutors also addressed the issue of ADB financing for the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran section as part of the fourth tranche of the North-South Transport Corridor Investment Program. Minister Hovhannisyan highly appreciated ADB's participation in the project, noting that the Armenian side had officially requested funding of 236 million euros from ADB.
Minister Hovhannisyan emphasized the importance of the ongoing support provided by ADB to the Republic of Armenia, highlighting that all initiatives implemented with ADB, in the form of targeted and budget loan programs as well as technical support instruments, are aimed at implementing the Armenian government's reform agenda.
Earlier, BMG reported that "North-South" is the largest investment transport project in the history of independent Armenia. It began construction in 2009 with the aim of connecting the south of the country with the north. This will create an international transport corridor providing uninterrupted transportation of goods from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea.
Currently, the country's territory with a population of three million is crossed by road transport on average in 11 hours. The new 556-kilometer corridor is expected to halve this time.
Despite the project's importance for Armenia, "North-South" is being built very slowly. The construction of the highway was supposed to be completed by 2019, but so far only 5-6% of the route's length has been put into operation.
Authorities hope to complete the highway construction within 8-9 years.
