What happened to the sand taken from riverbed? (video)
The Armenian legislature today discussed the an investment loan project to be provided to Armenia by the Council of the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund (ACF) to finance the Construction of the North-South Road Corridor (Phase IV). During the discussion, Heghine Bisharyan, a lawmaker representing the Country of Law Party (OEK), asked Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication Artur Arakelyan whether the great amount of sand removed from the riverbed of the Araks river (known as Aras river) was used for the road construction. “People say the riverbed was altered in several places because of the construction. There have been other negative consequences, as well,” she said. Heghine Bisharyan was also interested in the quality of some sections of the road. Mr Arakelyan said they had a relevant agreement and mathematical calculations. “We have to wait for evaluations. As for the findings of the Control Chamber, I must say that we have referred to them many times: all discrepancies were recorded accurately. Our engineering team gave the same evaluations long before the CC report. Both the Control Chamber and out engineering team state that humidity of the macadam used in the construction does not correspond to the agreement requirements. We paid for the work only after the deficit was made up,” he said. The deputy minister said he was unaware of the sand taken from the Araks river. “It seems to be an environmental issue. Anyway, I shall make inquiries and tell you.”
