ArmInfo. The project for the reconstruction of the 32-kilometer section of the Kajaran-Agarak of North-South transport corridor received a positive conclusion from the State Comprehensive Expert Commission.
According to the press service of the Road Department Foundation, under the chairmanship of head of Urban Development Committee of Armenia Armen Ghularyan, a meeting of the State Comprehensive Expert Commission on the design documentation of the "Kajaran-Agarak road section of the "North-South Road Corridor Investment Program: Tranche 4." was held.
"The project for the reconstruction of the 32-kilometer Kajaran-Agarak section: Tranche-4, was discussed. The reconstruction work is financed by the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development, as well as by the state budget of the Republic of Armenia. The reconstructed section of the road with a length of 32 km will be of the second technical category with an estimated speed of 80 km/h. The section of the road will include 18 bridges, 3 tunnels, the longest of which will be 7.5 km. Heavy vehicles will have their own lane, which will facilitate the transportation of goods," the report says.
Members of the commission presented their observations on the project. Particular attention was paid to the issues of compliance of the entire section of the road with the requirements of building codes and seismic resistance of all engineering structures.
The State Comprehensive Expert Commission unanimously approved the project for the reconstruction of the 32 km section of the Kajaran-Agarak road of the 4th tranche, based on the results of which a tender for the construction of this section of the road will be announced.
The North-South project will reduce the distance from the Iranian border to the Georgian border from 556 to 490 kilometers. The road will significantly facilitate access to the Black Sea not only for Armenia, but also for Iran. The project will provide access to the Black Sea and European countries through the territory of Armenia (Meghri-Kapan-Goris-Yerevan-Ashtarak-Gyumri-Bavra) and Georgia. The corridor was originally scheduled to be completed in 2019. The cost of the program was constantly revised upwards. Meanwhile, in September 2012, when the construction of the highway started, the amount pointed out by the representatives of the Armenian government was many times less - 962 million dollars.
On September 24, 2021, the Government of Armenia approved this investment program within the framework of the North-South Road Corridor Investment Program: Tranche 4 .and the specifics of the organization of the pre-qualification procedure and launched the implementation of the program for the construction of the Sisisan-Kajaran road section in the Syunik region of the republic. According to preliminary data, the cost of the program only for the construction part will be about $1.5 billion. Its implementation provides for active cooperation with the international partners of the Republic of Armenia. On February 17, 2022, at a government meeting, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan informed that Armenia had announced a tender for the preliminary qualification of the Sisian-Kajaran section of the North-South transport corridor. 6 years are allotted for the implementation of the road, it is planned to build a new road of the II technical category with an estimated speed of 100 km / h, with a total length of about 60 km, including 4.7 km of bridges and tunnels with a total length of 12.5 km., the longest of which the Bargushat tunnel will be 8.6 km long. As a result, it will be possible to reduce the length of the Sisian- Kajaran road by about 58 km, increase the average speed by 50 km/h, set it within 100 km/h, reduce travel time by about 1.5-2 hours, and improve comfort and movement safety.
