President holds consultation to discuss socio-economic situation and marz priorities of Aragatsotn

President Serzh Sargsyan held today a consultation with the Aragatsotn marzpet and marzpetaran staff to discuss the socio-economic situation of Aragatsotn Marz for 2014 and for the January-September of 2015 and the present problems, as well as to touch upon the marz priorities and development programs.

“During this discussion of the Aragatsotn Marz’s socio-economic issues, I would like to pay special attention to two issues - agricultural development, especially livestock breeding, and infrastructural development. I would like to see with what new initiatives the state could promote agricultural development, including livestock breeding because in this sphere we have good trends of growth. Secondly, in 2012 and 2013 analyzing the socio-economic situation in different marzes, came to the conclusion that the main obstacle to the development of the Aragatsotn Marz is the weak status of infrastructures. By this mean water supply, the state of inter-communal roads and gas supply. Of course, you have noticed that across years we have taken measures aimed at these spheres. Compared to 2014, in 2015 we have doubled the resources aimed at the development of these spheres, and we expect the increase of resources to improve the situation, the doubling of results, perhaps a bit more than that. We should use these resources with care.

The Aragatsotn Marz is crossed by one of our country’s most vital veins, here one of our crucial programs is being implemented - the North-South Road Corridor Investment Program - and we have a goal and I am sure we will do it - to finish the whole part of the highway crossing the Aragatsotn Marz in 2018, and pursuant to our programs, the same year we will already open the whole of the Yerevan-Gyumri part.
I expect the marzpetaran and the community heads to approach this issue conscientiously and with readiness because there is a need to alienate new pieces of land for the highway. That is people should understand that this road is very important for the republic and, naturally, first of all for the marz itself. Very important is the fact that we are also taking measures to join secondary roads to the central highway, thereby addressing serious development issues.

If course, I would like the marzpetaran to pay much greater and more undivided attention to healthcare and educations issues, to personnel training and training because Aragatsotn is one of our few marzes where the rural population many times excels the urban population. Hence, these issues require urgent solution especially in rural settlements. We must be very attentive to this issue. You can always rely on our support of this matter,” said President Serzh Sargsyan at the beginning of the consultation.
Marzpet Sargis Sahakyan Marzpet presented the finished programs per separate spheres - urban development and public utilities, road construction, infrastructures and transport, agriculture, education, healthcare and social security etc. - and the programs for the upcoming years, as well as the ongoing works and current problems. The marzpet assured that the marzpetaran keeps a close eye on the works in the mentioned directions, and the president will be regularly reported on their results.

During the consultation, Ashot Kirakosyan, Executive Director of the Armenian Territorial Development Fund (ATDF), reported on the investments to be made in marz communities through the fund’s first component which, according to him, are mainly aimed at the education sphere, i.e. general education schools and preschool institutions.

At the end of the consultation, President Serzh Sargsyan gave a number of instructions. Particularly, the minister of the RA Territorial Administration and Emergency Situation was instructed to take measures to broaden the coverage of anti-hail systems in the Aragatsotn Marz with the aim of continuously improving the mechanisms for the protection of agricultural arable crops from natural disasters, as well as of pushing forward development programs on developing measures to add arable lands, fruit and berry plants and on promoting livestock breeding, presenting the respective studies and the assessments on financial resources to the RA government for discussion.

The RA Aragatsotn marzpet and the Chairman of the RA MA State Committee for Water Economy were instructed to discuss the priorities of developing irrigation systems to increase arable lands, fruit and berry plants, particularly those of continuously restoring canals, presenting the respective proposals to the RA government for approval for the purpose of including them in the upcoming programs.

The marzpet and the minister of agriculture were also instructed to study the intermediary results of the marz livestock development programs, developing clear measures on additional mechanisms to support the marz’s farming households.
With the aim of supporting the works of the North-South Road Corridor construction, the marzpet was instructed to provide comprehensive support to the unobstructed alienation of lands in the Ashtarak-Talin part envisioned in the corridor construction and to the proper preparation of construction sites.

With the aim of fully renovating and constructing the marz’s educational, cultural and sports objects, as well as of developing infrastructures in separate vulnerable communities, the ATDF was instructed to initiate a process of developing design documents for the programs enlisted in the urgent program list presented during the report, as well as a process of competitive procurement of construction works, during upcoming programs giving the same preference to the urgent renovation issues of communal education institutions presented by local self-governing bodies.