Friday, 17 September 2021
The visit of Deputy PM Suren Papikyan to Gyumri
On September 16, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Suren Papikyan visited Gyumri.
The Deputy Prime Minister made a stop at Mastara and Maralik sections of the "North-South" highway, got acquainted with the already done works and the ongoing asphalting works.
Afterwards, Suren Papikyan participated in the opening ceremony of the new arrival hall of "Shirak" airport and got acquainted with the renovated runway. He walked around the hall, inquired about the technical equipment, capabilities and services provided to the citizens. The Deputy PM said, ‘’I liked the works done. I have been at the airport in the past, and I can remember its old situation. I think ‘’Shirak’’ airport will become one of the key factors for the development of Gyumri. Now the airport has all the opportunities to serve European low-cost flights’’.
The old arrival hall, which had an area of 400 sq/m, was out of the norms and was causing problems for passengers, while the newly built hall has an area of 870 sq/m, where there are 8 passport control booths, luggage transport tape, which will eliminate the previously existing difficulties for the passengers. The new hall allows to serve 1 flight per hour. The runway is 3220 meters long and 45 meters wide. The average lifespan of its asphalt pavement is 10 years, the runway at Shirak Airport was last repaired in 2007. After 14 years of operation, there were many cracks and damages on the runway. A new drainage system has also been built.
The Deputy Prime Minister also visited the "Surb Mariam" kindergarten in Gyumri, where reconstruction works are underway under the "Social Investments and Local Development" program of the Armenian Territorial Development Fund. The former building of the kindergarten was in an emergency condition and was assessed to be under seismic risk. A decision was made to build a two-storey preschool educational institution on the site of the kindergarten in accordance with all earthquake resistance criteria. The kindergarten will be equipped with air ventilation and fire alarm systems. Heating will be carried out by 2 turbo boilers. Solar water heaters will be installed for hot water supply. The program also envisages improvement and fencing of the area, tiling around the building, construction of playgrounds and internal roads. The kindergarten was designed for 75 children, but this number may increase after the reconstruction. 171 million 188 thousand AMD has been invested for the implementation of the program, of which the community investment is 20 million 594 thousand AMD, the rest is the investment of the Government of Armenia and the World Bank.
The next stop of Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan was the construction site of "Zangak" kindergarten in Gyumri, where the excavation work of the foundation has already started. There will be a two-storey building on the spot. On the first floor there will be a hall, a dressing room, a director's room, rooms for one group (playroom, bedroom, dining room, bathroom), as well as a staff room with its own bathroom, a doctor's room, an isolator with its own bathroom, kitchen, food storage, heating unit and laundry. On the second floor there will be an entrance hall, rooms for two groups and two emergency exits. Structural systems are designed with load bearing stone walls and monolithic reinforced concrete structures, and monolithic reinforced concrete for the construction of the roofs. The roof of the building will be covered with metal tile, the load-bearing structures of the roof cover are wooden. It is envisaged to build water supply, sewerage, gas supply external and internal systems, as well as internal power supply, heat supply, ventilation, automatic fire alarm systems. Heating will be carried out by two wall-mounted turbo boilers installed in the heating unit. The hot water supply will be provided by solar water heaters, which will be installed on the roof of the kindergarten. The program also envisages improvement and fencing of areas, paving around buildings, construction of playgrounds and internal roads. The kindergarten is designed for 75 children. This kindergarten is also being constructed under the "Social Investments and Local Development" program of the Armenian Territorial Development Fund, with the funding of the Armenian Government and the World Bank.
The Deputy Prime Minister also visited the "Ani" district of Gyumri, where drinking water pipelines are being laid. These works are being implemented through a joint investment made by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the German KFW Bank, the European Investment Bank and EU (NIP). The program includes Shirak, Lori, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor and Syunik Provinces, with about 100 thousand beneficiaries. In total, more than 66 km of water pipelines will be installed with their supporting infrastructure. The project envisages replacement of worn-out pipelines, water intakes, reconstruction of daily regulation reservoirs, pumping stations, installation of water meters, etc.
The working visit of the Deputy Prime Minister ended in "Mush" district of Gyumri. The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is building two residential buildings for about 40 families and a kindergarten for 46 children within the framework of the "Our Gyumri" program of the Fund. The cost of the program is 1 billion 48 million AMD.
