Will the gas cylinder licensing period be extended? Examination organizations are overwhelmed

The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia regularly warns that from August 1 of this year, gas cylinders installed in vehicles will not be refueled if they are not installed or certified by a licensed organization. There are approximately 450,000 gas-powered vehicles in Armenia and only a couple of dozen examination organizations, which are currently overwhelmed with work, faced with massive queues of vehicles that cannot physically undergo examination in time. This was reported by Hraparak.

The media outlet noted that not all regions have the necessary stations. If one tries to register today, the queue will reach autumn, specifically October to November. Recently, one of the examination organizations informed us that if we register today, we would be able to be served after November 20. The Ministry has not taken any of this into account, has not provided proper conditions for examinations, yet insists that drivers should have registered in time to avoid such complications. They also urge drivers to use common sense.

The news outlet spoke with Sona Harutyunyan, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. She remarked, “You should have called back in February, March, or April. Everyone has left it for the last minute; now everyone wants to go, which is why there is a queue.” She later reminded that the deadline has already been extended once, and previously it was until February 1.

We explained to the spokesperson that there are 450,000 vehicles and only 15-20 licensed organizations, many of which do not conduct gas cylinder examinations, and some only handle installations. Additionally, such organizations are not present in all regions. “Only two regions do not have licensed organizations: Armavir and Syunik. The application from Syunik is already under discussion and will receive a license in the coming days. As of now, only Armavir does not have such a service,” said the spokesperson.

Now that the license for Syunik is expected soon and there are only two weeks left until August 1, should the residents of Syunik also be told to register in February or March? Will all drivers from Syunik be able to go and undergo examination at the only station in the region within those two weeks? “There is a problem, and yes, at this time, we admit that there is insufficient regional coverage or the appropriate number of organizations, but it is increasing every day. Currently, three more applications are pending, and the minister's order will come out in a few days. That means organizations are increasing by two or three every day, and if drivers had started the process a bit earlier, there would have been no issues,” the spokesperson responded.

“But you have not imposed a requirement that they must register in February-March to avoid this issue. If the deadline is set until August 1, I have the right to go for an examination on July 29 or 31,” we pointed out. “Yes, but you also need to consider that July 29 will be peak time, and you might not make it,” she replied. “How do I know it will be peak time?” we asked. “With common sense,” was her response.

“So, I lack common sense, and you depend on people's reasoning?” we questioned. “What do you suggest?” she asked. “I suggest you act with common sense and set reasonable timeframes.” “We are acting with common sense; the deadline was set long ago, and appropriate information has been provided and is ongoing,” she retorted.

“Directly answer me: does the law allow me to go for an examination on July 28 or 29, or does it not?” “It does allow.” “But if I go on July 29, and they tell me they cannot serve me and that I must come in November while the deadline is August 1, can you tell me who will be responsible for this?” “You should have started earlier so that such a problem would not arise. The number of companies is increasing, and today, a new company opened at 11 Shiraz St. with the minister's participation, where I inquired, and there was no queue; you can apply there.”

We also asked the spokesperson, who calls for common sense, how many vehicles have undergone examination to understand how both their reasoning and that of the drivers measure up within the deadlines they set. The spokesperson promised to check and report back.