Surene Papikyan Familiarizes with Asphalt Works of North-South Road Corridor

Surene Papikyan, the acting Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia, conducted a working visit to the sections of the M-1 interstate road under reconstruction in the context of Tranche 3 of the North-South Road Corridor investment program, specifically the Talin-Gyumri (Talin-Lanjik, Lanjik-Gyumri) stretches, to monitor the renovation work.

Accompanied by Kristine Galachyan, the Deputy Minister coordinating the sector, Stepan Machyan, the Head of the Road Department, and Davit Gevorgyan, the Governor of Aragatsotn Province, Papikyan first visited the 78-79 km stretch of the M-1 interstate road near the village of Mastara, where traffic has been redirected to the newly reconstructed roadway, featuring dual-layer asphalt, while the old road section is being demolished and work continues for the new construction.

This information was provided by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

During the visit, the acting Minister spoke with representatives from the contractor organization, the Chinese company Sinohydro Corporation, and the Italian company Aiardi Engineering, which oversees the technical supervision of the construction works, to learn about the results of the asphalt laying work completed on the 79 km segment of the M-1 road as part of the North-South Road Corridor investment program.

According to Vahagn Stepanyan, head of the Project Management Department of the Road Department of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, approximately 50 km of asphalt laying on the Talin-Gyumri roadway is planned for 2021, out of which 24 km of asphalt laying work has already been completed. The construction works in both traffic directions are expected to be fully completed by December 2022, with a dual-layer (7 cm + 8 cm thick) asphalt being installed, and a third wear layer (5 cm) to be laid just before the road is handed over for final operation.

As part of the working visit, Surene Papikyan's next stop was at the 100-101 km stretch of the M-1 interstate road near the village of Maralik, where he, accompanied by officials in the field and Shirak Province Governor Hovhannes Harutyunyan, became familiar with the ongoing asphalt laying work in that section.

In a conversation with reporters, the acting Minister expressed satisfaction with the quality of the two-layer asphalt being laid and the pace of the work, expressing confidence that the contracting organization would be able to complete the reconstruction of the 50 km road section within the scheduled time.

Surene Papikyan added that the already completed 24 km of dual-layer asphalt will allow for the traffic on the reconstructed section to be redirected to the existing old road segment after several crossings, line markings, and necessary regulations from the road police, expected to occur this year in September-October, thereby facilitating traffic between Yerevan and Gyumri.

Regarding the planned works on other sections of the North-South Road Corridor, Surene Papikyan informed that necessary steps are currently being taken to continue construction works on the Tranche 2 section from Artashat to Talin, including finding solutions to either resume work with the existing contractor or announce a new tender.

The acting Minister also noted that design and estimate documents for the construction of the North-South road from Sisian to Kapan in Tranche 4 are already prepared, and the announcement of an international tender is planned for August 2021. Stressing the intention of the European Union to finance the construction of the southern section of the North-South road corridor with around €600 million as part of the investment package intended for Armenia, Surene Papikyan stated that the main issue currently is to clarify the sources of funding to expedite the process. “The EU's promise of support exists, now we need to understand more concretely how, with what mechanism, to execute our subsequent works accordingly. Nevertheless, regardless of EU assistance, we had already decided to announce a tender for construction works in the Sisian-Kapan section of the North-South road because our documents are already prepared,” highlighted Surene Papikyan.