Construction of technology center building in Vanadzor will be accomplished before the end of this year

YEREVAN, November 4. / ARKA /. The construction of a technology center building in Armenia’s third largest town of Vanadzor, the capital of northern province of Lori, will be accomplished before the end of this year, a deputy economy minister Emil Tarasyan said to a parliamentary hearing on 2015 draft state budget today.

He said the Vanadzor technology park will focus on information technology, instrument engineering and mining industry chemistry and will seek to establish also close cooperation with Vanadzor-based large companies 

He said IBM plans to create its mobile laboratory at Gyumri Technology Center that opened earlier this year.  According to him, it already hosts about 40 ICT and other companies.

Tarasyan added that a technology center is scheduled to launch in Kapan, the administrative center of the southern Syunik province.

He said the 2015 draft budget appropriates 150 million drams for technology centers in Gyumri and Vanadzor.

By a February 13 decision the Armenian government chose Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) as the main operator to implement the Vanadzor technology center project.  When the center is built it will be handed to EIF free for 20 years. 

The project is financed by government-attracted loans for boosting e-society. Some $3.8 million are to be invested in Vanadzor technology center. EIF will employ about 20 teams and companies that will create in turn 200 new jobs in the town.  -0-