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The projects improving the seismic safety of schools are implemented within the framework of the Loan Agreement signed by the Armenian Territorial Development Fund and the Asian Development Bank in 2015. “The term of the project has been set until May 2021, and it has been extended until May 31, 2024 with the change in 2018,” the Head of the Fifth Department of the RA Audit Chamber Zhora Margaryan said at the joint sitting of the Standing Committees on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs and on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Environment Protection on May 18.

According to him, the program approved by the decision of the RA Government envisages the increase of seismic stability of 377 schools, strengthening of seismic disaster preparedness and response capabilities, assistance in seismic risk management and disaster risk reduction, improvement of systems.

The project was approved in 2016. In the first stage, reconstruction work of 8 schools were carried out. The number of schools was reached 435 by the decision of the Government in 2018. The number of schools being built in the first and second stages is 46.

The RA Audit Chamber audited the construction and project research expenses of the buildings made by the state budget in 2017-2019 within the framework of the projects improving the seismic safety of schools.

According to the representative of the Audit Chamber, the project work defined by the contracts were not done in due time.

The Audit Chamber submitted 9 proposals to the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, which will give an opportunity to develop and approve a program of measures.

According to the Chairman of the RA Audit Chamber Atom Janjughazyan, the presented conclusions give a reason to think in the direction of systemized problems.

The RA Deputy Minister of the Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Vache Terteryan said that the Ministry will study the proposals sent by the Audit Chamber in detail. He noted that the Fund works on the basis of two documents, the national legislation and within the framework of international obligations of the Fund.

The Executive Director of the Armenian Territorial Development Fund Artur Soghomonyan noted that detailed explanations for all observations were provided. He underlined that necessary changes were made after 2019. Design companies also submit estimates with the projects. “The estimates submitted by the Fund passed all the national examinations. Not only the design work, but also the entire construction process is at the center of attention of the international examination and the experts,” Artur Soghomonyan said. He informed that the observations of the Audit Chamber will provide a basis for taking the necessary steps to neutralize the existing risks as much as possible.