YEREVAN, October 5. /ARKA/. The Armenian government has approved today a set of changes to the loan agreements with the Asian Development Bank on prolongation of the completion of the construction of the second and third sections of the North-South highway.

According to the government’s decision, the construction of the second section of the road stretching from Ashtarak to Talin was extended by 27 months (from June 30, 2017 to September 14, 2019), and the construction of the third section running from Talin to Gyumri was prolonged by 21 months (from December 31, 2017 to September 14 2019).

In late September communications and information technology Vahan Martirosyan said the total cost of building the North-South highway stretching from Armenia’s south to the north may exceed $2 billion.

The goal of 556 km-long North-South Transport Corridor project is to upgrade Armenia’s 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 sub-regions. The first two sections of the North-South transport corridor opened in December 2015. The first section that stretches from Yerevan to Artashat has become a six-lane road, while the second section which is from Yerevan to Ashtarak has become four-lane road. 

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 North-South transport corridor will enable Armenia to mitigate the effects of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. -0-