Inspection Body Files Complaint with Prosecutor's Office over Violations in Tsitsernakaberd Highway Construction

On May 20 of this year, a section of the road leading from Leningradyan Street in Yerevan to Tsitsernakaberd Highway collapsed. As a result, the highway was closed to traffic in both directions until June 14. Following the collapse, a directive was issued by the head of the RA State Inspectorate for Urban Planning, Technical and Fire Safety to conduct an inspection as necessary.

Accordingly, inspections were conducted on July 3, 2022, at addresses 12/5, 13, 39, 39/1, 39/2, 39/3, 39/4, 39/5 on Tsitsernakaberd Highway in Yerevan, where violations were identified. Specifically, on June 26, 2020, Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan approved the working project in violation of the 9th point of the design permit (architectural-design task), which required that the entrances and exits of underground levels of residential buildings be designed within the boundaries of privately owned land, instead of communal property areas. The working project was reapproved on March 31, 2022, by Yerevan Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan, under the same violation.

The foundations of the buildings being constructed were designed within the boundaries of communal property. The working project that did not correspond to the design permit was approved by the mayor of Yerevan. A project developed in violation of Armenian legislation passed the state comprehensive expertise and received a positive conclusion as per an order issued on March 4, 2020, by the chairman of the RA Urban Development Committee.

The contractor company “Sahakyanshin” LLC executed the construction works with gross deviations from the approved working project; demolition and earthworks were conducted outside the boundaries of the construction site within the limits of communal property, alongside the edge of the highway. Furthermore, during the construction works, the agreed-upon slope of the trench was not maintained at 27 degrees, which led to the collapse of a section of the highway. This gross deviation in the design by “Sahakyanshin” LLC resulted in a technical accident.

After making a decision on the violations, the inspection body submitted a request to the RA Urban Development Committee to revoke the license granted to “Sahakyanshin” LLC for conducting construction activities. Administrative accountability measures have been applied to all construction entities that committed violations at the aforementioned addresses as prescribed by RA law. It is indicative that competent authorities not only failed to prevent the appropriation of communal property land but also facilitated the approval and scrutiny of the project with active actions.

No record has been prepared by the Yerevan City Hall staff regarding the detection of land appropriation violations. Appropriate measures have not been taken to address the consequences. Evaluating these actions as high-risk, the RA Urban Development and Technical Safety Inspection Body has reported the case to the RA Chief Prosecutor's Office as a criminal offense.