CIVIL WORKS BEGIN ON RURAL REHABILITATION PROJECT
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[04:30 pm] 09 November, 2007
MCA-Armenia announced today the beginning of civil works on the Rural
Road Rehabilitation Project. An opening ceremony was held in the
village of Getap (Aragatsotn Marz) and attended by Serge Sargsyan,
Prime Minister of Armenia and Millennium Challenge Corporation Vice
President Darius Mans.
The opening ceremony marks the beginning of construction on a
24.5 kilometer section of the H-17 "Armavir-Isahakyan-Gyumri"
road. Construction work is being executed by "Dorozhnik" LLC, and
scheduled to be completed by December 15, 2008.
The $235.65 million MCA-Armenia Compact includes $67.1 million
to rehabilitate up to 943 kilometers of rural roads, equaling more
than a third of Armenia’s 2,703 kilometer Lifeline Road Network. Upon
completion this project will ensure that every rural community has road
access to markets, services, and the main Armenian road network. Under
the Compact, the Government of Armenia will be required to commit
additional resources for maintenance of the road network.
The Compact, signed on March 27, 2006, with Entry into Force
on September 29, 2006, aims to reduce rural poverty through a
sustainable increase in the economic performance of the agricultural
sector. Armenia plans to achieve this goal through a five-year program
of strategic investments in rural roads, irrigation infrastructure
and technical and financial assistance to improve the supply of water
and to support farmers and agribusinesses. The program will directly
impact approximately 750,000 people, or an estimated 75 percent of
the rural population, and is expected to reduce the rural poverty
rate and boost annual incomes.
The Compact also includes $146 million to increase the productivity
of approximately 250,000 farm households (34% of which are headed
by women) through improved water supply, higher yields, higher-value
crops, and a more competitive agricultural sector.