No Compromise on Quality in Road Construction, Says Prime Minister

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired a meeting today in the government to discuss programs in the road construction sector. The government reported this.

Opening the meeting, the Prime Minister stated: “We have gathered to discuss the current situation in the road construction sector and our upcoming tasks. We have updates regarding the North-South road corridor, and we have made announcements concerning the next year, and we also need to understand where we have reached this year.”

“We have agreed that low-quality work will not be accepted, and all companies engaged in road construction should be aware of this in advance. We have long said that this must be excluded; that is, there can be no compromise on quality standards,” he added.

Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Bagrat Badalyan reported on the programs concerning the interstate, republican, and local significance of the road network, including the reconstruction program within the framework of the RA state budget, the medium repair program within the RA state budget, and the program for improving the vital road network funded by the World Bank.

In his statement, he noted that last year, 164 km of road construction was initially planned as part of the state budget planning for 2019, amounting to a total of 33.9 billion AMD, and now, a new benchmark has been set for 2019, with at least 330 km of road construction worth 47.3 billion AMD. Currently, the execution stands at 12.9 billion AMD, with work ongoing on 310 km in all directions.

This year, concluded contracts cover 400 km, of which at least 330 km will be completed this year; the remaining will be transferred to next year. This means that the next year will start with contracts signed for about 70 km of road construction.

A total of 27 contracting companies are involved, and the total contractual value of the three programs—reconstruction, medium repair, and construction of vital roads—amounts to 29.5 billion AMD, with savings of 5.4 billion AMD.

This year, many contractors have acquired and continue to acquire new equipment, and a large volume of mineral powder has been used in asphalt concrete, which contributes to the overall improvement of road quality. The Deputy Minister mentioned that weather conditions and remaining volumes are compatible, and the planned volumes will be completed by the end of the year.

Information has also been presented on the road construction works implemented within the framework of subvention programs. The Prime Minister was informed about the North-South road corridor project, highlighting that the road construction works for Tranche 3 (Talini-Lanjik and Lanjik-Gyumri) are currently underway, and design and estimate documents are already available for Tranche 4 (Artashat-Agarak) and Tranche 5 (Gyumri bypass and Gyumri-Bavra).

During the meeting, the volumes of road construction planned for 2020 and the tasks in that direction were discussed, along with subsequent works on the North-South road corridor project, quality standards for roads, sizes of construction work lots, and issues related to capacity development in the road construction sector.