Amulsar Developments Make Armenia Unattractive for Investments, Says American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia

The American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (ACCA) is urging for a fair approach to investments and the implementation of the law. This was stated in a statement addressed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The chamber believes that the developments surrounding the Amulsar project over the past year have made Armenia unattractive to investors.

They reached out to the Prime Minister regarding the prolonged events concerning the Amulsar project of Lydian Armenia LLC, a member company of ACCA. "ACCA is a leading business association founded in 2000 that currently represents the interests of more than 140 local and foreign small, medium, and large companies operating in almost all sectors of the Armenian economy. We believe that a fair and lawful treatment of investments is crucial not only for local and foreign companies that are members of ACCA but also for the development of the Armenian economy," the statement indicated.

ACCA emphasizes the importance of conducting professional and impartial audits in the mining sector, but also expresses perplexity that Lydian Armenia's project is the only mining project that has been subjected to three consecutive audits. According to them, the roads leading to the project area remain unlawfully blocked for over a year.

"We regret that even after the third audit was conducted, and given that you confirmed Lydian's compliance with high environmental standards, their access to the project area has still not been restored. Moreover, the possible need for another environmental impact assessment is being discussed," they noted.

At the same time, they assert that a fair and impartial approach to business should exclude selective treatment, and all requirements put forth by the state should be equally applied to all participants in the sector.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia also expresses concern over the negative impact of the ongoing Amulsar issue, stating, "This undoubtedly sends negative signals to potential investors and makes Armenia unattractive for investments. While the state spares no effort to attract investments into Armenia, potential investors signal that the foreign companies investing in Armenia are not protected and are subjected to unfair treatment."

ACCA concludes its statement by asserting that further delays regarding Lydian's Amulsar project will exacerbate the problem and could have lasting consequences, continuing to negatively affect the business environment and disrupt the country's investment attractiveness for future investments.

It is noteworthy that on August 19, during a live Facebook session, the Prime Minister stated that the Amulsar mine could be operational, as according to the conclusion of the Elard company, the potential risks could be insignificant to the waters of Lake Sevan or Jermuk if the 16 preventive measures discussed in the conclusion are adopted. This has sparked a sharp wave of protests among environmentalists and activists.

On August 14, citing the same results of the international expertise, the Investigative Committee announced that in the case of the mine's operation, the levels of pollution of air, water, and soil in Armenia would be so low that they would be "measurable." No grounds were found for negative impacts on biodiversity either. Based on this expertise, the investigative group concluded that there were no grounds for criminal prosecution against former officials for deliberately hiding information about environmental pollution.