No One Punished for Violations in North-South Road Construction: Opposition MP

Initially, a 56 km stretch of the North-South Road Corridor should have been built with the first tranche of the loan allocated for the construction of the corridor, which, however, later became 32 km, opposition Armenian National Congress faction secretary Aram Manukyan said at the National Assembly on Monday, June 22, during the discussion of the contract between the Armenian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on an additional $150 million loan. 

Armenia, according to the MP, has not fulfilled any obligations concerning the road construction, and as a result of this omission, deadlines have been postponed, work has been at a standstill.

“The construction of Yerevan-Artashat and Yerevan-Ashtarak road sections [of North-South Corridor] should have been completed by June 30, 2014. The obligation under the first tranche has not been fulfilled. Your business project of 2009 was wrong, the timelines were calculated incorrectly. I can safely say that you will not be able to complete the project by 2019. Financial calculations have not been accurate either. If at the time you talked about $ 800 million, now you're saying 900 million,” Manukyan stated.

The RA Chamber of Control, the oppositionist said, has drawn up 3 protocols and documented violations on 13 counts.

“As a result of these violations, the terms have been changed, donors have started new negotiations, there was stagnation, and only the program director was fired. No one was punished. Is this how we keep watch on our debt?” Manukyan asked. 

Because of such irresponsible performances, the MP concluded, Armenia drops out of regional programs.