ARMENIAN DIASPORA IS A GLOBAL RATHER THAN JUST FINANCIAL PARTNER

ArmInfo
2010-02-24 12:29:00

Interview with Bekor Papazyan, Executive Director of the National
Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia

The National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia was established in
2009 for drafting and coordinating programs to enhance the country’s
economic competitiveness. The foundation implements projects mostly
in the fields of tourism, health care, education and information
network development.

What stage is the program on creation of an oncology clinic in Armenia
at? It was said earlier that a group of French doctors of Armenian
descent are ready to finance the project.

We already have the architectural sketches of the complex. We have
discussed them and think that they are quite acceptable. The doctors
you have just mentioned visited Armenia two weeks ago, together
with representatives of General Electric and Varian, the companies
the investors are going to buy equipment from. Presently, we are
finalizing the financing agreements.

We are studying the prospects of not only nuclear medicine but the
whole field of oncology. Here, we can draft a couple of investment
packages. Besides considering the possibilities of purchasing a
cyclotron and manufacturing radio-isotopes for medical purposes, we
are looking forward to the prospect of opening a cancer diagnostics
center, equipped with PET scans. This center might treat different
types of cancer by means of radio-, chemo- and immunotherapy. We
might also have a center for post-clinic recovery. We have made rough
calculations for each of the projects – taken both separately and
in different combinations – and have shown them to our potential
sponsors. We are expecting response from both foreign and local
investors, including hospitals and individuals.

You have asked the Belgian Government to finance the purchase of the
cyclotron. Are you close to final agreement?

Presently, we are waiting for the approval by the Armenian Government.

As soon as the inter-governmental agreement is approved, we will start
formalizing loan guarantees. According to the initial agreement, we
were supposed to be given a loan and a grant but we prefer to get a
zero interest and a three-year grace period instead of the grant. The
loan will be provided for 15 years. The cyclotron will cost 12mln EUR –
exactly the size of the loan. The oncology clinic will cost 12mln EUR,
with the cost of the three PET scans estimated at 2mln-2.5mln EUR each.

We have not reached final agreements yet but we are planning to
do it this year. We want this program to be wider and we want the
Government of Armenia to proclaim oncology as a priority sector. This
would attract much bigger investments and we would be able to develop
a single business plan for the whole complex.

Does our region have similar medical complexes?

Our neighbors don’t have such centers. Eastern Europe does. The demand
for such services is constantly growing. So, if we ensure at least
half of the domestic demand and annually receive 500-1,000 people
from Georgia, Iran and, perhaps, from some other countries, we will
have quite a normal load for the center. The business projects will
be finalized in a month. The specific business plan will be presented
as soon as we have an investor.

We have presented this project in Silicon Valley in the United States,
at Berkeley University, and have received enthusiastic response. We
want to cooperate with them. Why? Because Diaspora can play a serious
role for Armenia not only as a source of financing but also as a
partner in creating professional networks. If we in Armenia want
to treat cancer according to the international standards, we need
professional diagnostics assistance from the Diaspora specialists.

Doctors from Diaspora could help us, say, for a couple of days,
a month on a paid or free of charge basis. Our Diaspora colleagues
have welcomed this idea.

What a stage the project on creation of the highland sports training
camps near Lake Sevan is at?

We are planning to open several highland training camps around Sevan.

Highland training is in high demand in different sports – cycling,
football, ice hockey. We have invited two experts from Germany,
who have helped us to draft a business plan. The plan contains an
investment proposal. In the coming months we will develop this project
into an investment package with detailed cost estimates.

We also have a program to build a cableway to Tatev Monastery as
part of the project to create a tourist and educational complex in
this area.

It will be a 5.7km reversible cableway, the longest such facility in
the world. The launch is scheduled for the autumn 2010.

During the opening ceremony we are planning to meet with our partners
under this program. By that time we will have started restoring Tatev
Monastery and creating a training center there. We will also begin to
develop products for tourists. The final stage will be construction of
a hotel. The launch of the ropeway will be the first tangible result
of the project.

We already have preliminary estimates on the hotel. We already know
where it will be situated and how many people it will be able to
accommodate. The final parameters will be determined as soon as we
have the first visitors. The construction is supposed to be started
in two years. The other components of the program will be completed
by the summer 2011. The training center will have to branches:
a monastery school and a summer research school for historical and
archeological studies. The money for the construction of the ropeway
and the renovation of the monastery has been provided by the Tatev
Fund. This fund has been established by Ruben and Veronica Vardanyans
and has already raised $20mln. This money is not an investment and
is not expected to give profit. It is a donation. Ruben Vardanyan is
the manager of Russian Troika Dialog and one of the trustees of the
National Competitiveness Foundation.

We have made a list of sights around Tatev Monastery and are presently
negotiating with representatives of local travel agencies and hotels.

The pilot project will be made public by the autumn, when the ropeway
is launched. It will contain elements of cuisine tourism, information
on travel routes, etc. In 2010 tour operators will already be able
to receive guests. For being able to receive more tourists, we are
developing a network of Bed & Breakfast motels in the nearby villages
– Tatev, Khdzoresk, Shinuayr, Tandzatap. Under this project we are
planning to cooperate with SME DNC.

We also have a project of training center for Yerevan.

In 1-2 months we will announce an international tender for the
feasibility study of the project. The project will be based on
government-private sector partnership. The center will consist of
office premises and state educational facilities. The commercial sector
is supposed to finance the academic one according to the well-known
Land Grant system – when the money received from the use of the
property lent by the donor is spent on research and education. One
of our partners is ready to watch this model of cooperation.

In the framework of WB PHRD program, you were supposed to select
a company to consult the Armenian authorities on how to develop a
republican fiber network.

We have already selected the company. It is Detecon International from
German. The company has been working for already two months and in
early Mar 2010 is supposed to familiarize the concerned parties with
potential models based on government-private sector partnership. The
final report and the construction plan will be presented a month
later. The constructor will be selected within the framework of the
WB’s credit program to also be supervised by the foundation. Now we
are watching several models. The greater part of the network will be
made of optic fiber but in the difficult-to-access highlands we will
probably apply wireless technologies. The goal of this project is to
fiber-network the whole territory of Armenia.

Thank you

Aram Gareginyan, ArmInfo, Feb 22 10