Armenia’s External Debt Continues to Climb As Country Takes Out Another Loan to Improve Roads

The loan agreement signed last November between Armenia and the Asian Development Bank for the Armenia-Georgia Border Regional Road (M6 Vanadzor-Bagratashen) Improvement Project will add 44 million euros to the country’s external debt.

The details of the agreement were presented in the Parliament today by first deputy minister of transport, communication and information technologies Artur Arakelyan. According to the deputy minister, all road improvement works will be finished by 2019 though the deadline is 2020.

Aram Manukyan, secretary of the opposition Armenian National Congress party, inquired of Arakelyan whether the ministry’s new loan of 44 million euros would be added to Armenia’s EUR 5.9 billion external debt or it was already included in it, to which the deputy minister replied that “of course it will be added.”

“You’re taking out loans new for your projects, while Armenia’s external debt has already surpassed 50% of its GDP. This money will be paid back by everyone except those who have taken it. We are crossing the red line here with a [EUR] 6 billion [debt],” Manukyan commented back.