YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The implementation of the programs of Unireso insurance company and Gegamet mining company proceeds according to the schedule. Responding to NT correspondent's questions, the Director of the programs' initiator Uniinvest company, Chairman of the Board of Unibank (Armenia) and Chairman of the bank's founder Uniastrum Bank (Russia) Gagik Zakarian said that Unireso will start functioning soon. In his words, everything is ready for Unireso's work, and 2 million dollars has been invested. The major programs and the conditions of service provision by their company are now being developed. It was mentioned that in the initial period Unireso will be engaged in insurance of cars, real estate and equipment, and it also plans to provide life and health insurance services starting from 2010. G. Zakarian said that about 30% of equipment for Gegamet has been purchased. Mining work and the plant to be built are now being designed, and the licences and permissions necessary for the company's activity are being received from the respective Armenian bodies. "I think that the operation of the mine and construction of the plant will begin in the summer of 2009," he noted. To recap, in November 2008 it was announced that the indicated programs would be launched. G. Zakarian and the founder of Reso-Garantia insurance company (Russia) Sergei Sarkisov are the founders of Unireso. According to G. Zakarian, it is envisaged increasing Unireso's authorized capital to 10 million dollars in the next 2-3 years. The cost of Gegamet invetsment program makes 25 million dollars. It is being jointly implemented by Uniastrum Bank, Unibank, Metta Group (Armenia) and Torront Holdings Limited (Great Britain). The investment project includes operation of iron-chromium mines in Shorzha and Jil, construction of an ore mining and processing enterprise, as well as of a fire-brick plant with an annual capacity of 20 million bricks a year, a plant for cement additives (with an annual capacity of 150 thousand tons), a chromium concentrate plant (with a capacity of 50 thousand tons), and an iron chromium plant (with a capacity of 20 thousand tons). G. Zakarian considered it possible that gold and platinum will be extracted from ores of the mines. It is planned to create 500 jobs as a result of implementation of Gegamet's programs.

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