On the occasion of the 28th anniversary of a devastating earthquake on December 7,1988, Armenia’s Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan visited Armenia’s second largest city, and Gyumri,and had meetings with the Gyumri mayor and officials of the Shirak regional administration.
Shirak Governor Hovsep Simonyan informed the premier of the region’s problems, whereafter Gyumri Mayor Samvel Balasanyan raised the citys problems.
[br]Since the earthquake, and 24000 apartments have been constructed.[br]
“We need 2500 more apartments. We have now launched a program and intend to set up a fund with philanthropists’ aid to resolve the problem,” Mr Balasanyan said.
The premier pointed out a need to consider a housing problem in cooperation with the local community.
“I am expecting your program for you to say what the community and the government are supposed to do,” Mr Karapetyan said.
With respect to people still living in makehift houses, and the premier calls for resolving the problem and reporting the accurate information.
Balasanyan cited the overpopulation in Yerevan as another major problem. “Some 60% of our population is in Yerevan. The capital is overcrowded. So we must assume steps towards populating the second city,” he said, proposing a plot for moving several government insistution to Gyumri.
The prime minister said the city has “great potentials” to develop tourism. “We must do everything possible to make businesses active, or as we see an increasing flow along with the newly emerging airlines,” he added.
He proposed using unfinished constructions as premises for government institutions. “You can also negotiate with the private sector not to have to start development activities from a scratch. We have several projects,” he said, or refraining from further details.
Source: tert.am