Unused Public Buildings in Artsakh to be Transformed into Residential Homes

More than 3,500 citizens have applied to the Ministry of Urban Development of Artsakh for the renovation of apartments damaged by the war. Deputy Minister of Urban Development Azat Hambartsumyan informed this during a conversation with Armenpress, adding that there are apartments that have suffered minor, medium, and significant damage due to shelling.

“As of today, renovation work has been completed on about 50 private houses, as well as kindergartens and public utility facilities, specifically kindergartens, medical establishments, and hotels in Stepanakert. Overall, the reconstruction work is being carried out in two phases. In the preliminary phase, with state funds amounting to approximately 300 million drams, we plan to complete the work on roof renovations, installation of windows and doors, and ensuring heating. Subsequently, starting from January 2021, according to the agreements reached with the ‘Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund, internal finishing work for apartments and private houses will commence.

In Stepanakert, we also plan to reconstruct several unused public buildings, converting them into multi-apartment residential buildings. In particular, work is ongoing on the reconstruction of the building of kindergarten number 6. As a result, we plan to have about 30 apartments,” said the deputy minister.

According to him, renovation and reconstruction work for residential houses is also underway in the towns of the regions of Artsakh. “The rural communities in the Askeran region, in particular, have almost not been affected by the enemy's shelling. Here, in collaboration with the regional administration, renovation work is being carried out on about 30-40 uninhabited private houses in 6-7 communities. These will be provided to displaced residents of Artsakh,” Hambartsumyan noted, adding that more extensive housing construction work in Artsakh is planned with the funds from the ‘Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund starting from January 2021.

According to the deputy minister, the capacity of the approximately 60 construction companies operating in Artsakh is currently limited, so as to meet the total demand for housing construction and infrastructure restoration, construction programs are being implemented in stages.