Armenian parliament debates $150 loan agreement with Eurasian Development Bank
22.06.2015,
17:07
Armenia’s National Assembly at an extraordinary session on Monday began debating a draft agreement with the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) whereby the latter is to provide the Armenian government with an investment $150 mln loan to finance the ongoing construction of the North-South transport corridor.
YEREVAN, June 22. / ARKA /. Armenia’s National Assembly at an extraordinary session on Monday began debating a draft agreement with the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) whereby the latter is to provide the Armenian government with an investment $150 mln loan to finance the ongoing construction of the North-South transport corridor.
The preliminary agreement was signed on April 14 this year in Yerevan by Armenia's minister of transport and communication Gagik Beglaryan and EDB chairman Dmitry Pankin.
Deputy transport and communication minister Artur Arakelyan said today the loan will be provided by the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund. The loan is to be granted for a period of 20 years with a 5-year grace period and a fixed interest rate of 1.65%.
The $150 million loan will be used to finance the construction of a 20.5 km section of the North-South transport corridor from the town of Agarak to Kajaran in the southern Armenian province of Syunik.
The goal of the North-South project is to upgrade Armenia’s main 556 km long corridor road as part of a broader thrust to improve connectivity, and boost trade, growth and livelihood opportunities in the Caucasus and Central Asia sub-regions.
The transport corridor will stretch from the southern Armenian town of Meghri, on the border with Iran, to Bavra in the north on the border with Georgia.
The North-South transport corridor will enable Armenia to mitigate the effects of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. According to Armenian officials, the cost of building the North-South transport corridor is estimated at $ 1.5 billion.
The Armenian government earlier signed a $500 million framework loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank to finance the project.
According to EDB, the implementation of this project will cut by 50% transport costs on the rehabilitated road section, increase the average speed of traffic by 40%, cut also operating costs for the maintenance of the highway in good condition, create about 1,750 new jobs, boost transit traffic through the territory of Armenia from India, Iran and Pakistan and help to partially overcome the consequences of the transport blockade of Armenia.
There will be indirect effects as well, such as increased access of farmers from remote areas to the consumer markets, retail and warehouse infrastructure in the central part of the country. It will make also basic health and educational centers more accessible to population of remote regions.-0-
The preliminary agreement was signed on April 14 this year in Yerevan by Armenia's minister of transport and communication Gagik Beglaryan and EDB chairman Dmitry Pankin.
Deputy transport and communication minister Artur Arakelyan said today the loan will be provided by the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund. The loan is to be granted for a period of 20 years with a 5-year grace period and a fixed interest rate of 1.65%.
The $150 million loan will be used to finance the construction of a 20.5 km section of the North-South transport corridor from the town of Agarak to Kajaran in the southern Armenian province of Syunik.
The goal of the North-South project is to upgrade Armenia’s main 556 km long corridor road as part of a broader thrust to improve connectivity, and boost trade, growth and livelihood opportunities in the Caucasus and Central Asia sub-regions.
The transport corridor will stretch from the southern Armenian town of Meghri, on the border with Iran, to Bavra in the north on the border with Georgia.
The North-South transport corridor will enable Armenia to mitigate the effects of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. According to Armenian officials, the cost of building the North-South transport corridor is estimated at $ 1.5 billion.
The Armenian government earlier signed a $500 million framework loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank to finance the project.
According to EDB, the implementation of this project will cut by 50% transport costs on the rehabilitated road section, increase the average speed of traffic by 40%, cut also operating costs for the maintenance of the highway in good condition, create about 1,750 new jobs, boost transit traffic through the territory of Armenia from India, Iran and Pakistan and help to partially overcome the consequences of the transport blockade of Armenia.
There will be indirect effects as well, such as increased access of farmers from remote areas to the consumer markets, retail and warehouse infrastructure in the central part of the country. It will make also basic health and educational centers more accessible to population of remote regions.-0-
