NO MAJOR PILEUP OF ARMENIAN FREIGHT CARS IN GEORGIAN PORTS

ARKA
Sep 12, 2008

YEREVAN, September 12. /ARKA/. No major pileups have occurred in
Georgian ports so far, said Arsen Ghazaryan, chairman of the Union
of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia (UMBA).

On August 16, an explosion downed a railway bridge near Gori-Tbilisi
line, disrupting exports to Armenia and leaving 72 car freights stuck
in the Georgian port.

Georgia offered a smaller rail bridge for restoring exports to Armenia
until the damaged bridge was repaired.

"Before the exploded bridge was repaired and reopened, the alternative
rail bridge linking Armenia and Georgia had been operating," Ghazaryan
said at a press conference.

The restored bridge will shorten Armenia-Georgia rail communication,
according to the UMBA Chairman.

"Freight cars arrive in Armenia according to schedule," Ghazaryan
added.

Armenia has suffered an estimated $680 million in damage to its
economy after the Russian-Georgian conflict, Representative Brad
Sherman said during the September 11 hearing of the U.S. House
Committee on Foreign Affairs.