Construction of Academic City Has at Least 3 Key Components: Gevorg Papoyan

Gevorg Papoyan, a member of the National Assembly from the "My Step" faction, made a post on his Facebook page, noting that in his opinion, the construction of the Academic City has at least three key components: educational, economic, and decongestion of the capital.

"The essence of the educational component is that the Academic City will provide a genuinely academic and educational environment, as it will be filled with students and teachers, not to mention the supporting staff. There will be large and rich libraries, sports complexes, and swimming pools intended solely for students and professors, lecture halls equipped with the latest technologies, parks with modern solutions, classrooms that meet new standards, offices for teachers, developed residential infrastructure, and so on.

"On the other hand, it will eliminate the obstacles currently hindering effective education, the most basic example being noise. This will be affirmed by students from Yerevan State University, Armenian State University of Economics, Armenian State Pedagogical University, and other universities who attend classes near Kharberd, Charents, Nalbandyan, Teryan, and Heratsi streets, where even with closed windows, the voices of students and lecturers are often inaudible due to city noise.

The economic component lies in the fact that, on one hand, urban construction in the country will intensify, generating new GDP, while on the other hand, tourism will significantly increase in two directions: first, the number of foreign students visiting the country for educational purposes will rise, leading to direct financial influx and the development of various infrastructures aimed at serving these students.

"Secondly, the state can sell or lease the buildings in downtown Yerevan at a high price to the private sector, which may lead to the opening of new hotels and the construction and reconstruction of these buildings, consequently boosting the number of tourists, revitalizing construction, and other sectors of the economy, creating thousands of high-paying new jobs. The above may not apply only to individual buildings of architectural significance.

Decongesting the capital is also an important ultimate outcome, which will help avoid traffic jams that are increasingly exacerbating over time and significantly resolve the issue of car parking.

The Academic City can be located near Yerevan, provided there is a seamless and fast transportation system connecting it with Yerevan, with developed parking infrastructure, an excellent residential area, and other infrastructures," the MP wrote.

It is worth noting that yesterday, during a meeting with residents of the Aragats community in the Armavir province, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed educational reforms and mentioned the idea of creating a higher education academic "city."