Why Have Chinese Representatives Entered Nairit: Alarm Raised by 168 Hours

'168 Hours' reports: 'A new looting process is being prepared at the Nairit Plant LLC. The coordinating group of Nairit has alerted '168 Hours' that Chinese representatives have been present at the plant for about 10 days, showing considerable interest in certain issues. This visit was initiated and is being accompanied by Ruben Saghatelyan, the former director of Nairit, who is also a member of the board of the 'Shansi-Nairit' joint venture on the Armenian side.

The 'Shansi-Nairit' company was established with the active participation of former Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and operates only with acetylene technology, lacking expertise in butadiene technology.

According to reliable sources, China now wants to construct a new factory operated with butadiene technology, with a capacity of 50,000 tons. The problem is that butadiene technology exists in Armenia and only a few other countries in the world. This technology is secret, which China does not possess.

The coordinating group has informed that the Chinese are specifically interested in butadiene equipment, and there is considerable concern among Nairit employees that the plant's former management may have reached a criminal agreement to fully hand over this secret technology, along with documentation, training manuals, and internal formalities to the Chinese.

One reason for alarm is that if China acquires this technology, it will seize existing free markets, and when Nairit is restarted in the future, it will face serious problems due to the lack of markets for its products. Attracting new markets will be quite challenging.

However, the greater cause for concern arises from the fact that months ago, when investors committed to restarting Nairit wanted to undertake an audit coordinated with the government, the company’s bankruptcy manager, Karen Asatryan, demanded a list of individuals who were to enter the plant to present it to the NSS for permission. One wonders how it happened that now, without the knowledge of the NSS, Asatryan has allowed foreigners to enter Nairit.

Moreover, he did not even think it necessary to inform the Armenian government about this.

The coordinating group of Nairit calls upon Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the government to investigate on what grounds the Chinese have entered this strategically significant plant and what agreements they intend to carry out behind the authorities' back.

It would be prudent for the NSS to scrutinize both former and current directors of the plant, as they seem to pursue personal interests at the expense of the Republic of Armenia’s interest, ignoring the restart of Nairit, summoning former employees and verifying various issues regarding the company's operations to ensure that the Chinese do not face difficulties in acquiring butadiene technology. Nairit employees are convinced that this is a matter of national security,' the newspaper writes.

The entire article can be read in today’s issue of the newspaper.