YEREVAN, JULY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. Excavation work for building a new town in the city of Spitak in Lori marz began on July 15. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had arrived in the earthquake zone to familiarize himself with the construction process in Spitak, as well as Mush-2 district in the city of Gyumri. He participated in the festivities "Spitak as a City of Friendship" attended by the ambassadors and consuls of the countries that have contributed to the elimination of the consequences of the 1988 Spitak earthquake, other guests. RA Minister of Urban Development Vardan Vardanian stated that in accordance with the consept on the earthquake zone's restoration, the apartment problem of about 7,000 families left homeless will be solved by 2013. More than 3,000 apartments will be built in Gyumri, and starting from November, 1,320 families will receive apartments in Mush-2 district. The construction of Ani district in Gyumri has already begun and another 254 apartments will be delivered for use in July, 2010. In the words of the minister, nearly 400 families will have house-warming parties in Lori marz in 2009: apartment houses will be constructed in such communities as Shirakamut (former Nalband, which was the epicenter of the 1988 earthqake), Mets Parni, Geghasar, Arevashogh, Gogaran, Lusaghbyur, Sarahart, Hartagyugh and Stepanavan. The provision of certificates for apartment purchase will continue, and residents of the earthquake zone and about a thousand families of refugees from Azerbaijan who currently live in other regions of Armenia will receive such certificates. More than 1,100 builders are engaged in construction work in Gyumri alone. According to the minister, most of them are locals with a montly salary of 150 thousand drams (about 410 USD). The minister said that under the project, it is also envisaged building 354 dwelling houses with their adjoining plots in a 40-ha area in Spitak, 36 houses of which will form the District of Masters with apartments and workshops of handicraftsmen. The construction work is being done by Glendale Hills company with the RA state budget's money. According to the company's director general Vahe Almoyan, initially it was planned to spend 43 billion drams (about 118 million USD) on construction in Gyumri, but later the program was optimized and expenses were reduced to about 30 billion drams. 26 billion drams will be spent on construction of private dwelling houses in rural communities of Shirak and Lori marzes.

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