YEREVAN—The funds to be collected during the upcoming Armenia Fund Telethon will be allocated toward the construction of the Vartenis (Armenia)-Martakert (Karabakh) highway.
It will take just three hours to drive from Yerevan to Stepenakert, the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, through this highway.
According to Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Fund, the estimated cost of the project is nearly $30 million.
“This amount will be allocated to the construction of the second highway to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Such decision was made based upon some strategic purposes, and development of Armenia’s Martuni region,” Vardanyan told reporters at conclusion of the meeting of the Fund’s Board of Trustees on Thursday.
He said that the Armenian and Artsakh governments have financially supported the project and most of the work has already been carried out. The Fund will just inject money into paving and landscaping the 114-km long highway.
“It is time now to modernize the highways to Karabakh, because Goris-Stepanakert highway is very inconvenient. The new highway will also contribute to the advancement of the tourism sector,” Vardanyan added.
The project will be launched in January 2014 following the fundraising at the European Phonethon, the Thanksgiving Telethon and charity dinners in different countries.
Last year, the traditional telethon in Los Angeles raised over 21.4 million dollars in donations.
The donated funds were invested in constructing community centers in the rural regions of Karabakh, agricultural program development in Tavush region of Armenia, and assistance to the Syrian Armenians.
Hayastan All- Armenian Fund was established in 1992 to implement the national projects and support the development of infrastructures in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The trustees’ board headed by the Armenian president includes respected representatives of Armenian communities worldwide.