An international tender has been announced in Armenia for design work to restore the Gyumri — Kars railway connection. This was announced by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures, Davit Khudaverdyan.

According to him, after determining the winner, the authorities plan to move as quickly as possible first to design, and then directly to the construction of the railway section. The international format of the tender was chosen due to the lack of experience of Armenian design and construction companies in implementing such large-scale infrastructure projects.

The length of the Armenian section of the future railway is about 21 km. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of its construction could be about $15 million.

The restoration of the Gyumri — Kars line is being considered as part of the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey. On April 28, a meeting of the joint working group of the two countries was held in Kars, Turkey, dedicated to the restoration and launch of railway communication.

The parties then emphasized the importance of the earliest possible opening of the line to expand transport links in the region. The launch of the railway can create a new route for the transportation of passengers and goods and strengthen Armenia's transport connectivity with Turkey and other destinations.