Saturday, 31 January 2009
RA Tigran Sargsyan called a consultative meeting dedicated to building sector problems and development prospects. The meeting was attended by heads of concerned ministries and government departments, the rector of the Yerevan State Engineering University, experts and heads of private sector organizations.
To start with, the Prime Minister indicated that for the past few years construction has been a key factor for economic growth, the growth rates of which considerably stimulated the development of other branches of economy. However, currently some backdrop can be observed in this sphere as caused by decrease in investment levels, which in turn is a consequence of the global economic crisis. Under these conditions, the Prime Minister emphasized the role of State policies aimed at stimulating economic growth and generating new jobs. He assured that construction continues to be in the center of the Government’s attention with the existing resources having to be used as much as possible.
“Our strategy is clear under these circumstances: the State should increase employment-friendly spending. Any such outlay must be justified because the State has no right to invest into risky spheres. As evidenced by international expertise, investment on infrastructure - road building, irrigation, drinking water, farming infrastructure and construction - is the most effective way to promote growth,” the Prime Minister said.
Tigran Sargsyan advised that the Government has already planned to realize USD 250million-worth of construction activities on the disaster zone alone. It is rather a great volume considering that engineering capacity will be used in rehabilitation works. Yet, it seems to be insufficient and we must look at the possibility of involving private investments. Addressing the experts and the heads of private sector organizations in attendance of the meeting, the Prime Minister said: “Nobody else but you can best assess the potential available in this sphere. I would like to learn your vision of what should be done in order to mitigate the adverse effect of the global economic downturn.”
The Minister of Urban Development and the head of the Industry Department of the Ministry of Economy presented their analyses and proposals concerning the problems and development prospects of this sphere. Then, the private sector representatives took the floor. They focused on the problems available in the area of engineering design, construction expertise and licensing, outflow of skilled workforce, refurbishment of building equipment, lending, legislative improvements etc.
At the close of the meeting the Prime Minister summed up the results of the discussion and issued a number of assignments. In particular, he noted that the current situation testifies that we lack a comprehensive development program containing the answers to all of the specified problems. Professional capacity is insufficient, additional training is needed which can only be addressed through technical assistance programs offered by appropriate international organizations. The head of government told the ministers of urban development and economy to submit summary information on what kind of technical assistance is necessary to achieve growth in this area which will provide a framework for future talks with interested international organizations.
According to another assignment, in cooperation with those experts and representatives present, the above-mentioned ministers should develop and present a program of development for the sphere of construction. The Prime Minister asked the private sector representatives to take an active share in these activities and become the Government’s partner in finding effective solutions to the existing problems.
