Avinyan on Installing Cheaper Alternatives to Terrace Boards for Benches

During a meeting of the executive session of the Yerevan Municipality, Mayor Tigran Avinyan inquired about which media outlets had reported on the benches installed in the Malatia-Sebastia administrative district.

The mayor was informed that the issue had been studied with the head of the administrative district, and there are three benches that need to be brought up to standard.

Regarding a media outlet's reaction to these benches, district head Romik Mkhitaryan presented Avinyan with the details: "It was blogger Arthur Chakhoyan who raised the issue about replacing benches made from 75 terrace boards with a cheaper alternative. All documents confirm that the same board used on the 75 benches is also a terrace board. It is not polymer; it is solid wood, and is more expensive than the polymer option he mentioned. Therefore, I intend to file a complaint and hold him accountable."

The mayor noted, "I don't know anything about the blogger; it was one of the investigative news outlets that wrote about this. Nonetheless, I will ask the supervisory department to provide a second opinion regarding this case."

Recall that earlier, Hetq reported that on December 6, 2023, the Yerevan Municipality signed a contract with SEM2017 LLC for the procurement of 75 benches. The benches were supposed to be made from terrace boards that do not require varnishing. The municipality paid 137,000 drams for each bench, amounting to 10,284,000 drams for the 75 benches. The media outlet added that they were made from ordinary wood and are several times cheaper than the paid price.