Sanosyan on Construction of Southern Section of North-South Highway

The construction of the southern section of the North-South highway is set to begin in 2024. This was announced by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Gnel Sanosyan, during the annual summary briefing.

“As a result of the competition, the tender for the 32 km section from Kajaran to Agarak has finally concluded this year, and the winning company has already been chosen. After certain organizational works in 2024, we will have construction in the south for the first time,” the minister stated.

He also noted that specific funding had been allocated for the Sisian-Kajaran road section and that a competition had been conducted for the process, but there are several disputed points on various issues. According to Sanosyan, since the process has not progressed, the funds have not been disbursed.

“The Sisian-Kajaran road section is quite a complex project. It spans 60 km and includes 27 bridges and 12 tunnels, one of which is 8.6 km long. There are professional disputes with partners regarding whether to construct it in one lot or divide it into several lots, or to build the tunnel separately, hence the northern and southern parts separately,” Sanosyan emphasized.

He added that there has mainly been underperformance with the North-South highway in two areas. There are court disputes in the land expropriation process, which leads to delays in the process, thus the payments for that section cannot be made on time. Sanosyan elaborated that if the land expropriation process were underway, there would have been payments, and the funds would have been invested in the budget.

Referring to the Talin-Lanjik and Lanjik-Gyumri roads, the minister stated that the progress of the asphalt paving works for those sections has been ensured. The Ashtarak-Talin section remains unfinished due to legal wrangling, and the temporary road has become the main route for several years now.

This year, an additional 11 km of road has also been opened, facilitating access to Talin and Gyumri.