Today, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan left for Shirak Province on a working visit. During the consultation held in Gyumri, the Prime Minister was presented with the performance report 2022 of Shirak regional administration and the progress of projects implemented in the current year.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, Head of State Supervision Service Romanos Petrosyan, Shirak Governor Mushegh Muradyan, Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan and other officials participated in the consultation.

Regarding the process of collecting own revenues of the municipal budgets, it was noted that the increase compared to 2021 was 16.3 percent in 2022. In 2022, 3 billion 346.3 million AMD were collected.

Information was presented about subsidy programs implemented in 2018-2022, according to which 203 programs, 435 sub-programs were implemented during the reporting period. In total, 8.9 billion AMD was allocated for 175 projects implemented during the mentioned period. In particular, the following subsidy programs were implemented: water supply/drainage, asphalting, gas supply, repair of kindergartens, public buildings, purchase of machinery, etc. For the year 2023, 32 programs, 130 sub-programs have been approved with a total budget of 9 billion 500 million AMD.

Agricultural land in the region is 210 thousand 976 ha, of which 15 thousand ha are irrigated. 46 thousand 084 hectares of land were cultivated out of 76 thousand hectares of cultivated land, which is 5 thousand hectares more than in 2021. During the reporting period, in particular, subsidization of loan interest in the amount of 3.8 billion AMD was implemented, 1 billion 302 million AMD wheat production program, 32 million AMD cattle breeding program, 123.4 million AMD agricultural machinery leasing, etc. were implemented in the region. During the previous year, 1,700 hectares of orchards were insured, compared to 1,400 hectares in 2021.

Capital investments of 23 billion 725 million AMD were made in the field of urban development in 2022 with the funds of the state budget and other financial sources. In particular, 2.7 billion AMD were invested in housing construction, 2.9 billion AMD in construction of educational, cultural and sports facilities, 1.9 billion AMD in water supply and drainage, 7.8 billion AMD in road construction, 487 million AMD in gas supply, etc.

In the reporting period, in the field of road construction, major repair of 62 km of interstate, republican and local highways were carried out, of which 51.78 were of republican significance. The construction of the North-South highway is in progress, the construction works of the Lanjik-Gyumri road section are in progress.

There are 27 medical institutions operating in the region, 6 of which provide in-hospital, 22 out-of-hospital services, and 1 is an emergency medical aid station. 15 of the medical facilities are in good condition, 7 are in need of repair, and 5 are in need of reconstruction. The reconstruction works of the latter are included in the Government's Action Plan for 2021-2026, and for this purpose more than 2 billion AMD will be allocated.

There are 124 pre-school education institutions in Shirak Province, attended by 5425 children. 6 kindergartens were built, 2 were repaired, 11 were reconstructed, and 1 kindergarten was overhauled in 2018-2022. in 2023, 9 kindergartens are being built, 10 are being repaired, 1 is being reconstructed, and 7 are being overhauled. Landscaping works are being carried out in 10 kindergartens, property has been acquired for 23 kindergartens.

The building condition of 49 schools in the region is assessed as satisfactory, and 91 are in need of repair. 22 schools need reconstruction and construction, 32 schools need gymnasium construction. During the previous year, the construction works of three modular schools started. 1124 teachers passed mandatory certification, 156 voluntarily. During the previous year, the building conditions of 22 schools were improved. Within the framework of the Government's program to build "300 schools and 500 kindergartens", the construction of 5 schools and 15 kindergartens are in progress in Shirak Province

Reference was made to the construction works of the Kapsi reservoir, as a result of which it is planned to irrigate 23 thousand hectares of land. Within the framework of the project, it is planned to resettle the families of the Jradzor settlement, the construction works of the new village have started.

Developments in the field of tourism, culture and sports were also referred to.

It was reported that the capital investments in Shirak Province within the framework of various programs reach 60 billion AMD.

Summarizing the consultation, the Prime Minister first referred to the developments in the field of agriculture. In particular, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the old and inefficient forms of plant breeding and animal husbandry are losing competitiveness, the farmers should take advantage of the modern agriculture programs implemented by the Government. "We need to encourage the production of crops of the high price segment," said the Head of the Government. The Prime Minister also emphasized the implementation of follow-up works in the direction of ensuring food safety, the promotion of slaughterhouses.

The Prime Minister also inquired about the number of unemployed people and the number of available jobs and instructed that active work be carried out to implement training programs and raise people's abilities to suit the available jobs. Nikol Pashinyan also emphasized the need to ensure the financial stability of healthcare institutions. Speaking about the construction of kindergartens, the Prime Minister considered it necessary to expand nursery schools in the country. "Implementation of quality investments in the field of education and health care is one of our priority tasks," the Head of Government emphasized. 

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Within the scope of the visit to Shirak Province, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan got acquainted with the completed and ongoing projects in the communities funded by the Government and subsidy programs.

Nikol Pashinyan's first stop was on the M-1, Yerevan-Gyumri-Georgia border interstate highway, the major repair of the1.8 km long section of which started this year and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The total cost of the project is 443.5 million AMD, which was allocated from the state budget.

Next, the Prime Minister visited the park of the Ashotsk settlement, the construction of which started in 2022 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The works of the first phase of the park with a total area of 3,730 square meters, which is being built for around 10,600 beneficiaries of the enlarged Ashotsk community, have been completed, for which 17,212 million AMD have been allocated from the state budget, 60% of the works of the 2nd phase have been completed. The total cost of the subsidy program is more than 121 million AMD, 45% of which was allocated from the state budget.

The Head of the Government was presented with the construction works of the Aregnadem school, which started in 2021 and is expected to be finished this year. The school is designed for 100 children. The total cost of the project is more than 645 million AMD, which was allocated from the state budget.

The Prime Minister also got acquainted with the construction works of the Kaps reservoir, which started this year. It is planned to restore and build the semi-constructed reservoir of Kaps, which is located 22 km north of Gyumri, in the Akhuryan river valley. The project includes reinforcment and restoration of the Kaps dam, construction of a reservoir with a volume of 60 million cubic meters. The "Combined Management of Water Resources/Akhuryan River, Phase 1" program is financed by the loan funds of the Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW) and co-financing by the Government of the Republic of Armenia. The total cost of the program is 94.8 million euros, including loan funds - 68.5 million euros. The construction of the reservoir will increase the water supply level of around 17,000 ha of land areas, as well as create an opportunity to replace the mechanical irrigation of 2280 ha of land areas with gravity irrigation, saving 1.3 million kWh of electricity annually. The reservoir will create an opportunity to increase the irrigated land areas of Shirak Province by another 920 ha, and change the irrigation method of around 6600 ha of land areas in Talin region of Aragatsotn Province from mechanical to gravity irrigation, saving 11 million kwh of electricity annually. As a result of regular irrigation, the agricultural output will increase. Within the framework of the project, it is planned to relocate the residents of the village of Jradzor in Shirak Province to a new village being built during the independence of Armenia.

Nikol Pashinyan's next stop was the construction site of the new sports complex of the Greco-Roman wrestling school named after Arthur Aleksanyan. The works started in 2021, completion is planned for 2026. The sports complex of republican importance in Shirak Province will have all the conditions for the development of children's and youth sports: large competition and training halls for wrestling, weightlifting and gymnastics, stadiums including a football field, running track, swimming pool, hotel area to accommodate the visiting athletes, entertainment hall and other necessary infrastructure. The total cost of the project is 6.5 billion AMD.

The Head of the Government then visited at the regional center of the unified social service of Gyumri, which will provide social services to around 55 thousand beneficiaries in the new building on a one-window basis. The construction works of the center started in February 2020. The new center will enable the work of the social protection sector to become more coordinated and operative. The establishment of the center, for which 392.4 million AMD was allocated by the Armenian government and the World Bank, will enable residents to use the services of social security, employment, assessment of personal functionality and social support under one roof.

Next, the Prime Minister visited the Gyumri Medical Center, toured in the oncology, neurology and stroke departments, got acquainted with the details of the invasive cardiology service. The invasive cardiology service is equipped with the state of the art generation angiographic equipment, which enables to provide high-quality medical care and service to the region. This service is the only one in the province. Blood donor chairs were also recently purchased for the oncology department, which enabled patients to receive a chemotherapy session in more comfortable conditions. The Department of Neurology has been equipped with the latest equipment. The total cost of the project is 129 million 828 thousand AMD.

In the Karnut settlement of the Akhuryan community of the region, Nikol Pashinyan got acquainted with the construction works of a modular kindergarten with an area of 490 square meters, designed for 2 groups of 50 students. The total cost of the project is more than 264 million AMD, of which 30% is the co-financing from the community budget, and 70% is the amount allocated from the state budget. The works started in 2022 and will be completed before the end of the year. The thermal insulation works of the external walls of the building have been carried out, the construction of the roof, interior finishing, and improvement of the yard are in progress. The property of the kindergarten is planned to be acquired through a subsidy program.

The Prime Minister also got acquainted with the works for enlarging the departure hall of Gyumri’s "Shirak" airport building, which started in 2023. The investment for the modernization of the departure hall is about 500 million AMD. The new arrival hall of the airport was put into operation on September 16, 2021. It is more than 2 times larger than the previous arrival hall, has the ability to serve 1 flight per hour, which can be increased up to 3 times if necessary, increasing the actual capacity of the airport from 250,000 passengers to 700,000 per year. The runway of the airport was completely overhauled, a new lighting system was installed. The new arrival and departure halls under construction will be able to serve up to 1.2 million passengers annually. In parallel, renovation works are underway in the area of 700 square meters of the old airport building, where it is planned to provide space to organizations providing state services. The total investment in Shirak airport is 17 million USD. The investments were made by "Armenia International Airports" CJSC.

The Head of the Government was also presented with the major repair works of the 5.7 km long section of the Aztan settlement of the VM-1, Yerevan-Gyumri-Georgia border interstate highway, which started in 2023 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The total cost of the subsidy program is 1 billion 260 million AMD.

Nikol Pashinyan was at the construction site of school No. 2 in Aztan settlement of Akhuryan community. Construction with a cost of 1.5 billion AMD are carried out within the framework of the Seismic Safety Improvement Program. The works started in 2022, completion is planned in April 2024. Azatan secondary school consists of 2 buildings. One of the buildings was built in recent years, and the second one was built in 1988 and is in a bad condition. Within the framework of the project, it is planned to build 6 new buildings next to the newly built building, having a school in line with modern educational conditions in one place. It is also planned to replace the heating system of the newly constructed building. The buildings under construction is designed for 560 students, another 300 students can attend the existing building. Currently, 702 students attend the Azatan secondary school.

Next, the Prime Minister got acquainted with the construction works of the Lanjik-Gyumri 23 km section of the "North-South Road Corridor Investment Project" Tranche 3. Around 75% of the Lanjik-Gyumri road section is one-way traffic. The works will be completed before the end of the year. The cost of the project is 74 million euros or 38.9 billion AMD. Along with the asphalting works, the installation of road safety elements is going on.

Nikol Pashinyan was presented with details about the progress of the renovation works of the culture house in the Panik settlement of the Artik community. Within the scope of the subsidy program, the house of culture with a total area of 610 square meters is being renovated. The works started in 2021, completion is planned this year. 80% of the works have been completed, 27.7 million AMD have been allocated from the state budget. Partial reinforcment of the walls of the building was carried out. Currently, interior and exterior finishing works are underway. It is also planned to build a heating system.

The details of the major repair works of the 4.9 km long section of the H-21, /H-75/ - Horom - Artik - Alagyaz national highway, which started in 2022, were also reported. construction works are expected to be completed this year. The total cost of the project is 1 billion 94 million AMD.

It was also noted that the major repair works of intra-community asphalted roads of Ani community settlements have been completed. Within the framework of the subsidy program, in 2021, the section of the Dzorakap-Maralik road with a length of 580 km was overhauled. The total cost of the project is more than 134 million AMD, 60% of which is the amount of co-financing from the community budget, and 40% is the amount of money allocated from the state budget. 33.5 million AMD was allocated from the state budget.

Nikol Pashinyan paid tribute to the Armenians who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the motherland in various communities of Shirak Province.

The Prime Minister's visit to Shirak Province has ended.