ISSUE OF BUILDING KAPAN-MEGHRI MOTORWAY’S TSAV-SHVANIDZOR SECTION REMAINS OPEN

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. A number of representatives
of Armenia’s mass media and NGOs paid a visit to Syunik marz on
September 24-26 to conduct a monitoring of the situation at the
Tsav-Shvanidzor section of Kapan-Meghri Motorway. Earlier it was
envisaged that the indicated section of the road would pass through
the Shikahogh Reserve. This would destroy most of Mtnadzor Forest and
cause irreparable damage to nature. However, the community intervened,
which made the Armenian government take a decision on July 10, 2005,
under which the initial project was changed and the road was to bypass
the reserve – through the village of Shishkert.

The monitoring was conducted within the framework of the campaign
against the construction of the motorway through the Shikahigh
Reserve with the support of the World Wildlife Fund and the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), with the information NGO Ecolur
being in charge.

According to Ruben Mkrtchian, Director of the Shikahogh Reserve, no
construction work is being done in the territory of the reserve. The
work at the Tsav-Shvanidzor section is underway, even though slowly.

The builders explained it by their bitter experience – sometimes a lot
of effort is made to transport the equipment to an out-of-the-way place
and later they have to move it from the area beacuse of some changes to
the project. The builders said they are waiting for the final project
which has not been submitted for an environmental examination yet.

The residents of the Shishkert village told reporters about the recent
visit of the RA Minister of Transport and Communication Andranik
Manukian. They were concerned since during the visit the minister
expressed doubts about the correctness of the decision to build
the motorway through their village. It also became known that the
designers are preparing yet another version of the road construction,
according to which the road may bypass Shishkert and run through the
edge of the Shikahogh Reserve for several kilometers.

Deputy Head of the Syunik regional administration Robert Sargsian
noted at the meeting with reporters that Shishket plays an important
role in the strategical development of the marz. He was convinced
that the scheme bearing the signatures of the Armenian President and
Prime Minister will not be changed. “We are resolute to protect the
version that is the most convincing one both from the environmental
and financial point of view,” Vladik Martirosian, Chairman of NGO
“Khustup” said.