New Road in Armenia’s South Facilitates Iranian Cargo Shipments

Azerbaijan notified Armenia that it will conduct inspections of Armenian citizens and vehicles in the part of the Goris-Kapan road which is under its control. After receiving the notification, the Armenian government decided that citizens and cargo transporters will be offered to use the alternative road instead, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting. In his speech, Pashinyan reminded that since August 2021 the Azerbaijani authorities were charging Iranian cargo trucks with customs duties in the parts of “Eyvazli and Chayzami” passing through their territory of the Goris-Kapan road.

“Yesterday an unofficial notification was received from Azerbaijan that they are planning to conduct passport and customs control of Armenian citizens and vehicles starting midnight November 11. After receiving the notification, we made a decision to guide our citizens traveling on that part towards the Kapan-Aghvani-Tatev-Halidzor-Shinuhayr-M2 road and organize traffic here. The Tatev-Aghvani section, which was practically impassable for several decades, was paved and commissioned last week. Last Thursday I personally used that road to travel to Kapan and back,” the PM said, adding that nearly 100 cargo trucks have already used this road in the Kapan-Tatev section since Wednesday midnight.

Moreover, the commissioning of this new road means that the problems caused by Azeri authorities for Iranian cargo trucks traveling to Armenia is resolved. Iranian cargo vehicles can now use this new road and avoid the additional customs duties levied by Azeri authorities. “After yesterday’s decision of Azerbaijan, by the way, the situation doesn’t change for the Iranian cargo trucks [on Azeri-controlled Goris-Kapan part], with the difference that now they can travel via the paved Tatev-Aghvani road without additional customs duties,” the prime minister said. The high-quality of the road also cuts travel time from/to Yerevan-Kapan. PM Pashinyan noted that other major construction works are ongoing to build alternative roads in Tatev-Ltsen, Shurnukh and Vorotan and elsewhere. - Armen Press