ARMENIAN RAILWAY CJSC TRANSFERRED TO CONCESSION OF RUSSIAN RAILWAYS OJSC

arminfo
2008-06-03 14:13:00

ArmInfo. On 1 June 2008 Armenia transferred the Armenian Railway state
CJSC to concession of South-Caucasian Railway CJSC belonging to the
Russian Railways OJSC, Minister of Transport and Communication of
Armenia Gurgen Sargsyan told media Tuesday.

The minister said the contract of concession was signed two weeks ahead
of schedule. The investment plan says the Russian Railways pledge
to invest in development of the infrastructure about $600 million
within 30 years, including 2/3 of the amount will be invested in the
modernization of the railroad, repair and acquisition of equipment, on
the whole within the first 5 years. He mentioned that within a month
or two the concessionaire plans to acquire 8 electric locomotives to
boost passenger transportation. For this purpose, the Russian side
promised to invest first of all in reconstruction of carriages that
were idling for poor technical state.

The agreement of concession of the Armenian Railroad CJSC for
30 years with a 20-year renewable period was signed in Yerevan in
February 2008. The contract provides for subsidizing the annual loss
in passenger transportation by the concessionaire. For its part,
the Russian Railways will provide $57 million guarantee from the
moment of making the contract and undertake the responsibility for
fulfillment of commitments.