Video: I agree with all the comments that this is not an ideal project, Avinyan

After eight months of development, the new master plan for Yerevan is ready. The city council voted in favor of the new master plan for the city with a ratio of 32 'for', 13 'against', and 2 'abstaining'. Therefore, a project has been developed by the staff of the Yerevan city hall, which was presented during the government meeting on May 30, approved by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The acting director of 'Yerevan Project' LLC, Andranik Sedoyan, presented to the council members that the master plan is being digitized in parallel, which involves current changes. The project has updated the capital's road network.

“In the past years, some roads were built, such as Monte Melkonyan and North-South, which were not reflected in any document accurately. Studies have been carried out, which have been included in the documents,” he said.

According to Sedoyan, the transportation network was developed based on the framework of the previous master plan. “The sections that were not implemented according to the strategic plans of the previous document but are relevant today have been included in this document,” he said.

He added that the constructed roads have been mapped from digital platforms and localized with cadastral maps. Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan emphasized that the issue regarding Yerevan's master plan arose back in 2020, and the process should have started in 2018-19, indicating that the city hall should have resolved the matter at that time.

“I agree with all the comments that this is not an ideal project. This is a project about the actual situation and some prospective programs, which can serve as a basis for the GIS maps reflecting the master plan layer,” he noted.

Addressing the opposition's statements regarding corruption, Avinyan stated, “It is very important to be able to respond to everything that is said. General accusations regarding corruption are irresponsible statements. If you have something to say about a specific fact or case, we would be happy to hear it, because one of my primary functions as the mayor of Yerevan is to prevent corruption.”

Avinyan also mentioned that he has spared no effort in changing the mechanisms of building permits that existed before him. “About 17 billion of our revenues come from architectural and planning tasks and building permits; that is, those people are paying legal amounts to the city hall,” he said. He proposed either to publish pinpoint and specific facts or “to stop diluting the issue.”

“Do not make general spatial statements because in that field we have so much to say about you and your former mayor colleague,” he concluded.