Details on the Reconstruction of Pushkin Tunnel and the Construction of a New Tunnel in Dilijan

The "Road Department" foundation has presented the projects for the reconstruction and modernization of the Pushkin Tunnel, as well as the construction of a new tunnel in Dilijan, which have been developed with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This information has been reported by the Road Department.

Representatives from Armenia included Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Kristine Ghalechyan, Deputy Minister of Finance Edgar Mkrtchyan, Deputy Executive Director of the "Road Department" foundation Narek Zulalyan, and other officials. From the Asian Development Bank, the meeting was attended by Transport Director Chen Chen, Transport Sector Operations Officer Hiroaki Yamaguchi, Chief Transport Specialist Nicolas Dei Castelli, and others.

At the start of the meeting, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Kristine Ghalechyan welcomed the guests and thanked the Asian Development Bank for its long-term constructive cooperation and support for the development of Armenia's road infrastructure. In turn, Chen Chen referred to the history of ADB-Armenia cooperation and reaffirmed the bank's readiness to continue supporting the modernization processes of the country’s infrastructure.

The design works were carried out by the Austria-German company "Berenard Gruppe", which has more than 40 years of experience in engineering design. The project for the construction of the new Dilijan tunnel plans to build a 2.36 km long tunnel parallel to the existing one, complying with EU standards and the second technical category of highways. The existing tunnel will be transformed into an emergency evacuation tunnel, which will connect with the new tunnel every 500 meters.

The new tunnel is designed to be equipped with all necessary modern engineering, safety, and automatic control systems. The project for the reconstruction and modernization of the Pushkin Tunnel includes the renovation of the tunnel's lining, drainage system, sidewalks, and the roadway, as well as the creation of pockets for emergency stops, continuing and completing the construction of the unfinished evacuation tunnel. The latter will provide evacuation opportunities every 500 meters in emergency situations, in compliance with EU standards.

Additionally, there are plans to completely modernize the tunnel's ventilation, lighting, power supply, fire extinguishing, monitoring, and signaling systems, in line with EU standards. During the meeting, representatives from the Armenian side presented their questions regarding the projects and discussed the details related to future cooperation.