Pashinyan on the Issue of Buying HETC

After the government meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the question of whether the government is planning to purchase HETC from its owners.

“We need to wait for the decision of the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC), and after that, we will formulate our approaches. In my speech at the CC congress, I mentioned two scenarios. These scenarios remain valid. The decision will have some substance, which either makes our proposed scenarios feasible or impossible. The continuation depends on the price, which should be determined based on a comprehensive analysis. If it’s a reasonable price, I have said that the government will discuss it very seriously; if it is too high and it is evident that we cannot make this acquisition with state budget resources, we will go with the second scenario. It will be possible or impossible depending on the PSRC's decision.

The second scenario is that, in some way, a specialized company with international reputation is privatized, but the government maintains a certain presence both legislatively and through shares. This will be discussed. In any case, there must be payment to HETC: in one scenario, the government, in the other scenario, the one who buys it, since they are acquiring it with government intervention, but are buying it from another company,” the Prime Minister said.