ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Jan 16 2008
Russian Railways to handle Armenian Railway
YEREVAN, January 16. /ARKA/. The Russian Railways will handle the
Armenian Railway CJSC, RA Minister of Transport and Communication
Andranik Manukyan said today during a press conference.
The Russian company has won the Armenian Railway management bid. The
companies signed today a transaction in Yerevan. The concession
agreement will be signed in a month, according to the Minister.
On December 21, 2007 the Russian Railway expressed a willingness to
invest $570mln in the Armenian Railway CJSC ($230mln of the total sum
will be invested in five years). If Armenia establishes railway
communication with Turkey and Azerbaijan, the investments will
increase to $610mln and $1.8mln respectively. The company is ready to
incest another $2.2mln if the Abkhaz section of the railroad opens.
According to Manukyan, the RA Government planned to invest $170mln in
the Armenian Railway in 30 years. He pointed out that the Russian
Railways plans to allocate AMD 1.7bln for the RA state budget as a
lump sum investment. Besides, the company will transfer 2% of the
Armenian Railway’s profit to the RA state budget.
The Canadian CPS Transcom Consulting Company gave 94.4 points (on a
100-points scale) to the offer of the Russian Railways. The
consulting company will prepare the concession agreement, Manukyan
said. `The concession agreement with the Russian Railways is a
success, taking into account that the company remains the country’s
property and is just committed to trust,’ the Minister said.
The Armenian Railway CJSC owns 805 km long railway lines of total
1,125 km railroads in Armenia. The company has been gaining profit
since 2001. The Armenian Railway freighted 3mln tons of goods in 2007
against 2.7mln tons in 2006. The company’s profit totaled AMD 12bln
against AMD 11bln in 2006. -0–