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HYDRO-PLANTS VS TOURISM: BATTLE LINES DRAWN IN ARMENIA'S SYUNIK PROVINCE
Kristine Aghalaryan
13:32, December 17, 2014
Ruben Vardanyan, a wealthy businessman based in Russia who supports
various tourism development projects in Armenia, is so concerned
that the construction of two mini hydro-plants may adversely affect
tourism in the country's southern Syunik region that he has met with
Armenia's prime minister in an attempt to halt their construction.
This news was conveyed by a Hetq source close to the issue.
The two hydro-plants are being built in the Syunik communities of
Tatev and Tandzatap by a company called Tatevi Anapat LLC which is 50%
owned by Sourik Khachatryan, the governor of Syunik Province.
The affected areas fall within a region that the IDeA (Initiatives for
Development in Armenia), co-founded by Vardanyan, has been actively
promoting as a prime tourist zone in Armenia.
In 2010, IDeA launched the construction of the Wings of Tatev aerial
cable car that leads to the historic Tatev Monastery. The cable car
project is just one part of the Tatev Revival program, envisioning
the reconstruction of the Tatev Monastery Complex and the development
of local communities (job creation, fostering entrepreneurship in
communities and local standards of living).
Hetq got in touch with IDeA to find out if the above meeting actually
took place between Vardanyan and Armenia's prime minister.
In response, the IDeA's public affairs division said that discussions
have been held with various government officials regarding the
hydro-plants and that the issue has also been broached locally,
within the scope of plans to create a national park in the region.
"We hope that all these discussions will lead to resolutions that will
allow for the full implementation of regional development projects,"
concluded the IDeA's reply.
Pipes for the hydro-plants, now under construction, are already been
laid in the two abovementioned communities.
It would thus seem that these discussions have run their course and
that the plants will be constructed, even if Tatev Revival Program
suffers as a result.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/57826/hydro-plants-vs-tourism-battle-lines-drawn-in-armenias-syunik-province.html
Kristine Aghalaryan
13:32, December 17, 2014
Ruben Vardanyan, a wealthy businessman based in Russia who supports
various tourism development projects in Armenia, is so concerned
that the construction of two mini hydro-plants may adversely affect
tourism in the country's southern Syunik region that he has met with
Armenia's prime minister in an attempt to halt their construction.
This news was conveyed by a Hetq source close to the issue.
The two hydro-plants are being built in the Syunik communities of
Tatev and Tandzatap by a company called Tatevi Anapat LLC which is 50%
owned by Sourik Khachatryan, the governor of Syunik Province.
The affected areas fall within a region that the IDeA (Initiatives for
Development in Armenia), co-founded by Vardanyan, has been actively
promoting as a prime tourist zone in Armenia.
In 2010, IDeA launched the construction of the Wings of Tatev aerial
cable car that leads to the historic Tatev Monastery. The cable car
project is just one part of the Tatev Revival program, envisioning
the reconstruction of the Tatev Monastery Complex and the development
of local communities (job creation, fostering entrepreneurship in
communities and local standards of living).
Hetq got in touch with IDeA to find out if the above meeting actually
took place between Vardanyan and Armenia's prime minister.
In response, the IDeA's public affairs division said that discussions
have been held with various government officials regarding the
hydro-plants and that the issue has also been broached locally,
within the scope of plans to create a national park in the region.
"We hope that all these discussions will lead to resolutions that will
allow for the full implementation of regional development projects,"
concluded the IDeA's reply.
Pipes for the hydro-plants, now under construction, are already been
laid in the two abovementioned communities.
It would thus seem that these discussions have run their course and
that the plants will be constructed, even if Tatev Revival Program
suffers as a result.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/57826/hydro-plants-vs-tourism-battle-lines-drawn-in-armenias-syunik-province.html