Cracked Walls, Tiles: The $6.5 Million Hospital in Martuni is Non-Operational

Last year, at the end of the year, the Martuni Medical Center in the Gegharkunik region was officially opened with much fanfare, for which the Government of Armenia allocated 2 billion 470 million drams, approximately $6.5 million from the state budget. This was reported by the daily newspaper Zhoghavor.

“Let us inform you that the project for the construction of the hospital was proposed in 2019 during the tenure of Minister Arsen Torosyan, with construction beginning in 2020. It was supposed to serve a population of 89,000. During these years, in 2021-2022, Torosyan made periodic visits to the Martuni Medical Center as part of his regional tours, while in 2023, current Minister Anahit Avanesyan visited the Martuni Medical Center several times,” the publication notes.

“The opening ceremony of the hospital took place last November, attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other high-ranking officials,” the article continues.

According to Zhoghavor, many employees of the hospital reported that the newly constructed building was handed over with cracked walls and tiles. However, in November, Pashinyan did not dismiss anyone or punish anyone for the poor quality of the work performed.

“Additionally, out of a 200-person medical staff, only 8-9 people were allowed to participate in the hospital's opening, which shows discriminatory treatment towards the doctors. The construction of this hospital was problematic in another sense as well. The fact is that in 2011, the 'BiBiJi' Medical Center was built in the same Martuni area of the Gegharkunik region with the efforts of external investors, but after some time, this medical center equipped with expensive medical devices was closed down as it did not justify itself. Without taking this experience into account, Torosyan designed the construction of a new $6.5 million hospital with state and other resources, which, although officially opened three months ago, is already non-operational due to unfinished work and a lack of specialists and various technical issues.

Due to the profitability of their seasonal work in Russia, residents of Martuni choose to travel to Yerevan for treatment since the hospital in Martuni is not operational. Despite this entire analysis, Pashinyan's government, which removes hangers and showers, has not punished anyone for the $6.5 million expenditure; only Minister Avanesyan dismissed Deputy Minister Armen Nazaryan and the Director of the Office for the Implementation of Health Programs, Yervand Elibekyan. Thus, the minister received the accolades for the hospital's opening, while the subordinates were punished for its failure,” the daily states.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.