Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures refrains  from specifying North-South Road Corridor Investment Program`s  implementation costs and deadlines 

ArmInfo. T Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan refrained   from specifying even the approximate cost of the North-South Road Corridor Investment Program and preferred not to indicate the deadlines of its implementation.

"It is impossible to estimate the cost of the entire program, since  we have areas for which there are no design estimate documentation  yet," he told reporters on May 15 on the sidelines of the Annual  Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development  (EBRD), after signing a loan agreement to finance the Southern  section Sisian-Kajaran road of the North-South Road Corridor  Investment Program in the amount of 236 million euros.

However, according to him, sections of the Artashat-Ashtarak,  Talin-Lanjik road have already been built, the construction of  Lanjik-Gyumri will be completed within a few months, and  Ashtarak-Talin is at the implementation stage. In total, he said,  approximately 82 km of road sections are currently under  construction.

In addition, preparations are already underway for construction on  the southernmost section of the road (Agarak-Kajaran), and a  contractor has already been selected. A competition for the  construction of the Kajaran tunnel will be announced soon.

The "North-South Road Corridor Investment Program" is a major  infrastructure project in Armenia which aims at reducing the distance  from the Iranian border to the Georgian one 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.  Construction of the corridor was originally scheduled to be completed  in 2019. The cost of the program was constantly revised upward.  Meanwhile, in September 2012, when construction of the highway began,  the amount quoted by representatives of the Armenian government was  several times less - $962 million.