ArmInfo. The implementation of the concession to manage Armenian railways was discussed at a meeting between Oleg Belozerov, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Russian Railways, and Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. Belozerov made a working visit to Yerevan on October 14.
According to the Russian Railways press service, during the meeting, Oleg Belozerov spoke about the performance of South Caucasus Railways CJSC, a subsidiary of Russian Railways that is implementing the concession agreement, and assured the Armenian government, represented by the Prime Minister, of the company's commitment to all its obligations.
"The goal of railway workers is to provide transport links to the economies of our countries. The concession allowed us to preserve and develop Armenia's railway infrastructure without shifting restoration and maintenance costs to the republic's budget. All profits went toward railway development." The total investment from Russian Railways and South Caucasus Railway revenues during the concession period amounted to 146 billion Armenian drams, or approximately $400 million. We are open to dialogue with the Armenian government and a joint assessment of the effectiveness of the concession agreement. For our part, we intend to firmly adhere to all our obligations," Belozerov stated.
"Armenian Railways are an integral part of the 1520 mm gauge railways that operate throughout the post-Soviet space." In cooperation with its Armenian partners, the Russian side is ready to ensure the necessary freight flows and create conditions for increasing the number of passengers carried," the head of Russian Railways added.
He added that to this end, the South Caucasus Railway is systematically upgrading its infrastructure and passenger rolling stock: 27 new cars manufactured by JSC Transmashholding were delivered in 2021, and four new EP2D electric trains have been acquired over the past few years.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to establish a joint working group to assess the potential for transit communications using the Armenian railway network.
As a reminder, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan first voiced the proposal for Russia to sell a railway concession on February 13.
At that time, in a conversation with journalists, he stated that the fact that Russia's concession management of Armenian railways creates competitive problems for Armenia, and Many international partners want to bypass Armenian territory when implementing infrastructure projects. In this vein, he suggested that Russia consider selling the concession to a third, friendly country. He suggested Kazakhstan, the UAE, or Qatar as examples.
Russia called Pashinyan's claims groundless and stated that it does not intend to sell the concession for Armenian railways.
As a reminder, South Caucasus Railways CJSC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian Railways OJSC. On February 13, 2008, a concession agreement was signed in Yerevan between Russian Railways OJSC and the Republic of Armenia transferring the republic's rail transport system to South Caucasus Railways CJSC. According to the agreement, the concession management term is 30 years, with the right to extend it for an additional 10 years after the first twenty years of operation by mutual agreement of the parties. The objectives of JSC "SCR" include the modernization of the railway infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, the development of cooperation with states neighboring Armenia, the development of domestic and international passenger and freight traffic. The amount of investments carried out by the Company is $ 572 million. JSC "SCR" began its activities on June 1, 2008.
