UPPER LARS REOPENED
news.am
March 1 2010
Armenia
If the Upper Lars checkpoint is reopened, the prices for cargo
transportation from Armenia to Russia prices will be reduced by 20%,
Gagik Aghajanyan, Executive Director of the Apaven forwarding company,
told NEWS.am. The reduction will not apply to excisable cargoes, ad
the Upper Lars checkpoint is not licensed to serve excisable cargoes.
The Upper Lars checkpoint has been reopened today, March 1. The Russian
side closed the checkpoint in 2006 under the pretext of renovation.
"The most important thing is that the reopened checkpoint is an
alternative to the ferry service that has so far been the only means
of communication between Armenia and Russia. This is of high importance
for the transportation of perishable agricultural produce.
We will not any longer be dependent on the ferry service," Aghajanyan
said.
"We hoped for a 50% increase in the cargo transportation rate if the
Upper Lars checkpoint reopened," he said. The Russian and Georgian
sides installed modern equipment at the customs station, which will
facilitate customs clearance.
As to whether reopening the Armenian-Turkish border will not any more
be needed, Aghajanyan said: "No, it has nothing to do with this. Even
now that the borders are closed, no changes in the transportation
system are expected nor can they take place because these are different
directions."