YEREVAN, May 29. /ARKA/. The Ministry of Finance of Armenia submitted to Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), being the Resources Manager of the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund (ACF), the project plan to construct the North-South road corridor (Phase 4) and an application for investment finance for the same for a total of US $150 million, EDB said in a press release.

The documents were delivered during the visit to Yerevan of EDB experts headed by Alexey Cherekayev, Head of Project Team at the ACF Department. The delegation met with representatives of the Armenian Ministries of Finance and Transport. According to Alexey Cherekayev, the preliminary amount of finance approved in June 2013 was US $100 million, however after the feasibility study was finally revised, the amount requested by Armenia increased to US $150 million.

The issue of financing the project will be considered at the nearest meeting of the ACF Council. If it is approved, the ACF will begin to provide finance as early as late 2014 or early 2015, the ACF experts believe.

The investment program to construct the North-South corridor, which was approved by the Armenian government in 2010, envisions co-financing from the Asian Development Bank to the tune of US $500 million, to be provided in the form of a loan. The Armenian side has also raised EUR 60 million from the European Investment Bank.

The total cost of the North-South corridor construction is estimated at US $1.5 billion and the project period is expected to be 5-6 years. The 556 km road will be a section of the North-South international transport corridor, which is planned to establish road connection between Europe and India through Iran and Trans-Caucasus countries.

The main advantages of the route (in particular compared to the sea route across the Suez Canal) are that the distance will be more than halved and that the cost and timing of cargo transportation will be reduced.

The North-South road is also part of the international AH82 highway, which connects Central Asian countries. Therefore, this route will make it possible for the region’s countries, primarily Kazakhstan, to redirect their exports through Russia to the Black Sea and Persian Gulf countries.

The road will cross Armenia from south to north — from its border with Iran to its border with Georgia. Domestically, it will secure a quality transport link and Armenia’s access to foreign markets through Georgia. After the project is completed, Armenia will become a transit country for cargo.

Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. EDB’s charter capital exceeds US $1.5 billion. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.

The EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund (ACF) amounting to US$8.513 billion was formed on 9 June 2009 by the governments of six countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The objectives of the ACF are to assist the member countries in overcoming the consequences of global financial crisis, ensure their economic and financial stability, and foster integration processes in the region. The ACF member countries signed the Fund Management Agreement with Eurasian Development Bank giving it the role of the ACF Resources Manager.  -0-