CONSTRUCTION OF NORTH-SOUTH ROAD CORRIDOR TO BEGIN IN 2010 APRIL

/ARKA/
December 21, 2009
YEREVAN

Armenian transport and communications minister Gurgen Sarkisian said
today construction of the first phase of North-South Road Corridor
will be launched in 2010 April.

The project will be funded by the initial loan of $60 million,
earmarked by the Asia Development Bank to reconstruct an 18 kilometer
section of the road corridor between the capital city Yerevan, and
Ashtarak to the north, and improve safety of Yerevan to Ararat road
to the south.

Earlier this year the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will extend
up to $500 million to Armenia to upgrade its main corridor road as
part of a broader thrust to improve connectivity, and boost trade,
growth and livelihood opportunities in the Caucasus and Central Asia
subregions. Funds will be released periodically through a multitranche
financing facility, The transport corridor will stretch from the
southern Armenian town of Meghri, on the border with Iran, to Bavra
in the north on the border with Georgia.

The project, which the minister said, is estimated preliminary to
cost $962 million, is to be over in 2106. In the second phase which
is expected to be over in 2010, a road from Ashtarak to Gyumri will
be reconstructed. In the third phase a new road from Goris to Kapan
will be constructed.

"This is a very important project for Armenia, because it is a
regional project that will connect the southern parts of Armenia with
Georgian seaports on the Black Sea and will cut the travel by 30%,’
the minister said. The project implementation concept was developed
by German-Austrian ILF and the feasibility study was made by Japanese
PADECO.