GOVERNMENT RELEASES ADDITIONAL 3.3 BILLION DRAMS FOR EARTHQUAKE ZONE

/ARKA/
April 20, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, April 20, /ARKA/. The Armenian government has released
additional 3.3 billion Drams to finance construction of residential
compounds in Armenia’s second largest town of Gyumri and other towns
and villages in the so-called disaster zone that was razed to ground
by a 1988 earthquake, urban planning minister Vardan Vardanian told
a news conference today.

He said initially 1056 apartments had been planned to be build by
May, but the date was postponed until June after president Serzh
Sargsyan recently visited the area, instructing the ministry to pay a
greater attention to connecting new homes to the natural gas network,
installing heating systems and so on.

The 2010 budget earmarks 24 billion Drams for the disaster zone. The
minister said the extra release of 3.3 billion Drams will be spent to
eliminate the shortcomings found by the president. Vardan Vardanian
said also construction of schools will be launched in the area from
mid-May.

‘We are planning to complete construction of housing for homeless
people in 2013. Currently we have a list of 7,000 such families,’
he said.

The 1998 December 7 earthquake razed to ground Gyumri and Spitak, and
over 100 rural communities, killing, according to government figures,
25,000 people and injuring 140,000. Half a million people lost their
homes. ($1- 394.24 Drams).