Yerevan needs local expertise to build metro, mayor says

Armenia needs to develop its own expertise in metro construction, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan said at a City Hall session on Monday, discussing plans for the long-delayed Ajapnyak metro station.

“We must begin construction next year, regardless of who our partner for the project will be,” Avinyan said. “I understand that our country has lost the knowledge and expertise needed to build a metro system.”

“The project must include an Armenian company, whether independently or as part of a consortium. What matters is that an Armenian company be involved, because we are not going to stop at building just this one station. We want Armenia to have professionals who know how to build metro systems and to develop that expertise within the country,” Avinyan added.

Yerevan’s metro, which opened in 1981, currently has 10 stations, all on the left bank of the deep Hrazdan River gorge that divides the city. The planned Ajapnyak station would be the first on the right bank.

The station has been on the drawing board since the 1980s, but plans never materialized due to Armenia’s economic hardships in the 1990s and subsequent repeated delays in planning and design.

The project requires a new bridge across the gorge, as the three existing bridges connecting the two sides of the city were not designed to accommodate rail infrastructure. The technical challenges and repeated delays have contributed to a sharp increase in the projected cost, which has risen from the initial $50 million to nearly $300 million.

Also read: Yerevan metro expansion cost climbs to $287m

Last month, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suggested that a Russian company could be involved in the construction.

Russia has extensive experience in metro expansion, particularly in Moscow, which has opened 93 new stations under its latest expansion strategy, adopted in 2012. However, recent political and diplomatic tensions between Armenia and Russia could complicate potential cooperation on the project.