YEREVAN, January 15. /ARKA/. An Iranian company will build a bridge over the Armenian river of Debed in the northern province of Lori. The bridge is part of the Sadakhlo-Bagratasehn checkpoint on the border between Armenia and Georgia.

The Iranian company Ariana Tunnel Dam Co. is the winner of an international tender announced earlier by Armenian ministry of transport, communications and information technology. The construction will be financed from a loan that Armenia will be provided with by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The agreement to that end was signed back in 2012.

The Armenian government’s budget for 2018 has also earmarked 1.4 billion drams for the construction of the bridge. The agreement with the Iranian company was signed today in Yerevan. 

The project is part of the EBRD – financed Northern Corridor Modernization Program.  The agreement was ratified today by the Armenian minister Vahan Martirosyan, and the chairman of the Iranian company Ali Mousavi. The Iranian company was chosen from seven bidding companies.

The Northern Corridor Modernization Project includes the reconstruction of existing infrastructure to meet international standards, as well as the construction of new buildings at the three border control facilities. 

The improved border crossing points, equipped for vehicles and pedestrians, is expected to  have a more efficient and increased processing capacity, as well as provide a multi-directional road crossing for international cargo and passenger traffic.  

Located 200 km from Yerevan, Bagratashen is the main land transport corridor connecting Armenia through Georgia with the rest of the world. –0–