Construction on a 24.5 kilometer section of the H17 Armavir-Isahakyan-Gyumri road in Armenia is underway. Construction officially kicked-off with a ceremony attended by Armenia’s Prime Minister, Serzh Sargsyan, in the village of Getap (in Armenia’s Aragatsotn region), on November 9, 2007.
The Armavir-Isahakyan-Gyumri road is the main link for a number of villages to Gyumri, a major agricultural market for northern Armenia and the country’s second largest city. By the end of 2008, 9 villages along the route will be among the first beneficiaries of the new road.
“Our village is the biggest one in the Aragatsotn region with a population of 7,200. Direct connection with Gyumri is vital for us, making trade, cultural and all other types of relations easier and more accessible,” said Andranik Papikyan, the head of Aragatsavan, a community that will benefit from the new road.
The Rural Road Rehabilitation Project is one of three components of MCC’s $235.65 million Compact signed with Armenia in March 2006. This stretch of the H17 road is expected to be completed in December 2008.