ARMENIA SEEKING INVESTORS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAY TO IRAN
ARMENPRESS
Apr 04 2007
YEREVAN, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS: Transport and communication minister
Andranik manukian said Armenia is seeking investors for construction
of a railway to connect it with neighboring Iran. He said if built
the railway would also provide Armenia with a railway communication
to the Middle East countries.
Manukian said this would make Armenia a transit railway country
for transportation of goods to Europe and Russia and an alternative
to Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, which Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey
are building. But he said construction of the railway to Iran would
require some $1 billion.
He said the tender for concessional management of the Armenian Railways
will be announced in July.
Earlier Manukian said Russian, French, Ukrainian and Kazakh companies
showed interest in the Armenian Railways. He said World Bank experts
suggest that the winner transfer $10 million as concessional payment
and pay 2 percent of its incomes to the government. He said railway
tariffs will be set by the Pubic Services Regulatory Commission and
the Railway will remain under the government’s ownership.
"In a couple of years Armenian Railways will lose its carriages and
locomotives as they are in their last days," he said.
"Armenia does not have extra $170 million to repair the railroads
and buy new carriages and this is the main reason that prompted the
decision to hand it to a confessional management,’ Manukian said.