Azatutyun.am. Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian confirmed on Tuesday that a U.S.-Armenian joint venture has decided, for security reasons, to relocate a metallurgical plant which it began building on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan earlier this year.
The construction site in Yeraskh, a border village 55 kilometers south of Yerevan, came under fire from nearby Azerbaijani army positions on a virtually daily basis in June. Two Indian nationals working there were seriously wounded on June 14.
The automatic gunfire began one week after the Azerbaijani government protested against the $70 million project. It claimed that building the industrial facility without its permission is a violation of international environmental norms. The Armenian Foreign Ministry brushed aside Baku’s “false” environmental concerns, saying that they are a smokescreen for impeding economic growth and foreign investment in Armenia.
Despite making defiant statements, Armenian and U.S. investors behind the project suspended work on the plant later in the summer.
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A security guard at the Yeraskh construction site and several villagers said on September 14 that the GTB joint venture has begun moving construction and industrial equipment from the site. The company did not confirm that. An RFE/RL crew spotted a new and active construction site near the town of Ararat, several kilometers from Yeraskh.
“The Yeraskh metallurgical project continues to be implemented,” Kerobian told reporters. He acknowledged that the steel plant is now constructed in a different, “nearby” location.
Asked whether that means Armenia has again succumbed to Azerbaijani pressure, the minister said: “We are dealing with private investors who decide their further actions on their own. Given the geopolitical and regional environment, we are trying to be as helpful as possible.”
Armenia’s largest gold mine also located on the border with Azerbaijan was likewise targeted by systematic Azerbaijani gunfire this spring. The Russian owner of the Sotk gold mine announced in June that it has no choice but to end open-pit mining operations there and put many of its 700 workers on unpaid leave.