Today Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan left for Lori Province on a working visit. During the consultation held in Vanadzor, the Prime Minister was presented with the performance reports 2022 and ongoing programs of Lori regional administration.

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

The macroeconomic indicators of Lori Province for 2022 were first reported to the Head of the Government. Accordingly, the volume of industrial output in the reporting year was 92.4 billion AMD, the actual increase against 2021 was 60.9 percent, the share in the country’s total volume was 3.4 percent. The volume of gross agricultural output in 2022 made 88.5 billion AMD the actual increase against 2021 was 112.4 percent, the volume of construction was 22.5 billion AMD, the actual increase against 2021 made 109.8 percent, the trade turnover was 34 billion AMD, the actual increase against 2021 was 104.6 percent, the volume of services was 29.6 billion AMD, the actual increase against 2021 was 129.1 percent.

The Prime Minister was reported about 2018-2022 subsidy programs. The number of subsidy programs implemented in the reporting years was 307, with a total cost of 12.2 billion AMD, of which the state budget part is 6.2 billion AMD. The number of projects in 2018 was 20 with a cost of 505 million AMD, in 2019 there were 55 projects worth 1.8 billion AMD, 96 projects worth 3.7 billion AMD in 2020, 96 projects worth 3.860 billion AMD in 2021, 40 projects worth 2.323 billion AMD in 2022. The subsidy programs included the following sectors: asphalt paving: 51 programs, 46.42 km, lighting: 47 programs, 822 streets, water supply: 26 programs, 91.4 km, irrigation system: 20 programs, 57.1 km, kindergartens: 11 programs, paving: 42 programs, 39.14 km, gas supply: 6 projects, 822 households, renovation of residential buildings: 14 projects, renovation of public buildings: 39 projects, equipment, property acquisition: 27 projects, photovoltaic plants: 8 projects, park: 16 projects.

Presenting the information about the subsidy programs of the current year to the Prime Minister, it was noted that 47 programs with a value of 7.45 billion AMD and 152 sub-programs were approved. The share of the state budget for financing these programs is 4.25 billion AMD, the part of the local budget is 2.51 billion AMD, and other funds are 0.69 billion AMD.

The region has 250.844 ha of agricultural land, the forest fund is 100.6 ha. It was emphasized that in the field of agriculture in 2022 compared to 2021 sowing areas increased by 443 ha. There were 90 ha of drip irrigation orchards in 2021, and in 2022 they were 130 ha, intensive gardens in 2021 made up 70 ha, and in 2022 - 110 ha. It was also reported that 14 smart cattle farms, 8 slaughterhouses, 86 anti-hail stations, 12 cold stores with a capacity of 615 tons are operating in the region.

The volume of investments in the agricultural sector in the region in 2022 made about 8 billion AMD. The achievements in the field of agriculture were also presented to the Head of the Government. Within the framework of the Green Agriculture program, an unmanned aerial vehicle for spreading fertilizers and pesticides was purchased at a cost of 50,000 euros. The working group of the region developed the agricultural strategy of the region for 2022-2025. With the cooperation of the Government, the Eurasian Development Bank and the "Yeremyan Farm", included in the group of companies "Yeremyan Projects", the construction process of the livestock complex has started. The total cost of the project is 31 million USD. In Tashir region of the Province, a pig breeding farm was established by "Bozoyan" company in 2022. The amount of investment was 3 million USD, 400-500 tons of pork will be produced annually. "Tashir Agro" cattle breeding complex was founded in Tashir region. 481 heads of Simmental cattle were acquired.

Referring to the field of education, first the number of educational institutions in the region was presented, according to which there are 163 general education institutions, of which 149 are under regional administration, 37 smart classes, and 114 Armath laboratories. Then it was reported about the activities carried out in schools, according to which eco-classrooms were opened in 6 schools, orchards were established in 32 schools, 14 schools were renovated and re-equipped, solar plants were installed in 25 schools, greenhouse farms are present in 7 schools, 827 teachers were certified, 64 teachers were voluntarily certified. Among the teachers who passed voluntary certification, the highest salary is more than 400 thousand AMD.

There are 74 kindergartens in the region. 26 kindergartens have been built and reconstructed in 2018-2022.

As for the urban development sector, according to officials, allocations for the capital construction sector in the province according to the source of financing are as follows: private allocations amount to 26 million 235 thousand AMD, international allocations - 279 million AMD, community allocations - 1 billion 622 million AMD, state budget allocations: 3 billion 920 million AMD.

It was reported to the Head of the Government that the volume of investments in the field of urban development in 2022 made 5.8 billion AMD. Accordingly, the construction works of 153 family residential houses were completed by the "Fuller House Building Center" charitable non-governmental organization, 14 schools were renovated and equipped, 2 state colleges were reconstructed, 1 elementary school building was reconstructed, capital urgent projects were implemented in 17 schools, schools are being built in 3 communities, works on the construction of a "Modular" type kindergarten with a capacity of 144 children have started in 1 community, "Modular" type schools are being built in 2 communities, construction and reconstruction works of school gymnasiums are being carried out in 7 communities, construction worth about 1.9 billion AMD were carried out by the Armenian Territorial Development Fund.

During the consultation, information was presented on the works carried out in the direction of road construction in the region, according to which the volume of investments in the field of road construction amounted to 13.9 billion AMD, 103.4 km of roads were overhauled.

The works carried out for infrastructure improvement were reported. In particular, within the framework of the Armenian-German cooperation program in the field of water supply, the reconstruction works of the distribution network of the 8th pressure zone of Vanadzor are planned with the financing of KFW Bank, the cost of which is 905.2 million AMD. The following works were carried out by "Veolia water" company: construction of a new chlorine plant worth 10.3 million AMD, improvement of water supply and drainage systems of settlements worth 1.8 million AMD, repair of chlorine plants in Vardablur and Aghegi communities worth 5.8 million AMD. It was noted that the number of landfills is 5. In 2022, photovoltaic plants were installed in 8 communities of the region.

Reference was also made to the health care sector, it was noted that there are 29 medical institutions under the regionala dministration, 5 medical centers, 1 dispensary, 4 polyclinics, 19 primary health care centers, hospital capacity is 461 beds. The volume of investments in the sector is 1.7 billion AMD. "Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Medicine" was opened in "Vanadzor Medical Center", equipped with the support of "Aznavour Foundation". In 2023 "Spitaki Medical Center" purchased a Siemens go.Up computed tomography device of the German brand Siemens with its own funds at a cost of 162 million AMD. Digital x-ray equipment was provided to 4 health institutions of the region by the Ministry of Health in 2022.

"Children of Armenia Charitable Foundation" (COAF) built a new building equipped with modern equipment and property of "Dseghi Health Center" SNOC. The volume of investments is 400 million AMD.

Within the framework of international cooperation, the "Children of Armenia" charitable foundation (COAF) has invested about 2 billion AMD in the framework of development programs of rural communities. The economic development forum of Lori Province was organized by the initiative of the regional administration. About 11.6 million AMD have been invested within the framework of the EU program "Empowerment of local actors for development in Lori and Tavush Provinces".

The volume of investments in the field of tourism in 2022 amounted to around 1.8 billion AMD. The number of hotel establishments is 273, of which 20 are new hotel establishments.

Presenting the works and current programs in the field of culture and sports to the Prime Minister, it was noted that there are 19 sports schools, 3 sports clubs, 21 libraries, 8 museums, 28 music, art, and dance schools in the region. About 21 archaeological items were recovered in the Lori-Pambak geological museum. 7 thematic exhibitions were organized in the museum. The number of visitors in 2021 made 2534, and in 2022 - 3972. Major repair and construction works of gymnasiums were carried out in 7 schools. There are sports halls in 88 schools, of which 64 are subject to repair.

During the consultation, upcoming programs were also discussed. In particular, it was mentioned that the plan for the sustainable development of the Vanadzor community was developed together with the Lori regional administration and the Vanadzor community administration. The total cost of the project is 27 million euros. The programs for improving the utility and sanitary conditions of the enlarged communities of Vanadzor, Spitak, Tumanyan and Pambak were developed jointly with the Lori regional administration and approved by the Territorial Development Fund of Armenia. With the joint efforts of the "Investment Support Center" Foundation and the Lori regional administration, the investment program of the "Yerevan Chocolate Factory" company is in progress. The process of building 11 Tumo boxes and a Tumo center in Vanadzor is underway by the Simonyan Foundation in 7 communities of the region.

Among the upcoming projects are also the construction of a new building of the "Tashir Medical Center", the construction of a new building of the "Infectious Department" operating within the "Vanadzor Medical Center", and the opening of the hemodialysis department of the "Stepanavan Medical Center".

Continuing to present information about upcoming projects, it was also mentioned the construction of a new district to replace the existing emergency wooden residential buildings in Ashotaberd district of Stepanavan community of Lori region, as a result of which 309 families will have new apartments, will soon start.

During the consultation, the Prime Minister referred to the construction of schools, the expansion of intensive orchards, the provision of necessary consultation to agricultural farms, the development of other branches, road construction, the overhaul and construction of schools and kindergartens, as well as other projects, and gave relevant instructions to those in charge.