Our Program for the Reconstruction of Kond Should Bring New Life and New Concepts to the Field. Avinyan

On February 11, a regular meeting of the inter-agency working group coordinating the development of the historical urban environment and tourism infrastructure in the Kond neighborhood of Yerevan was held under the chairmanship of RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan.

In his speech, Tigran Avinyan stated: “Dear colleagues, after a long break, we will discuss the urban planning issues of the Kond neighborhood today within the framework of the coordinating working group. Kond represents a major cultural and historical value. For this reason, our program for the reconstruction of the neighborhood should bring new life and new concepts to the field. This neighborhood is an integral part of Yerevan's character, and its revitalization and renewal will have a cascading effect on the local economy, job creation, and tourism.”

“We must combine the new and the traditional urban environment here. A few weeks ago, we presented the project proposal for holding a competition for public discussion. Today, we should discuss the feedback and suggestions received. It is important to understand which conditions are most crucial for conducting the competition and how we can make it maximally accessible to the public. We must also discuss the phases of the process, as well as the preservation of established and newly discovered historical and cultural monuments in the urban environment.”

“I want to emphasize that the reconstruction of Kond will be an inclusive process, as we have previously discussed and agreed upon. All opinions must be heard, and all comments should be taken into account. Moreover, the process will be maximally transparent, based on the principle of active public participation. We need to have broad discussions and try to include all practical proposals in the reconstruction program.”

At the regular meeting of the coordinating inter-agency working group, various issues related to the project proposal for the competition were discussed, specifically summarizing the suggestions and opinions received and considering their implementation possibilities. Attention was paid to the composition of the competition jury, the progress of internal surveying works in the Kond neighborhood, the list of historical and cultural monuments in the neighborhood, and the results of organized tours. At the end of the meeting, further steps were outlined.