JSC 'South Caucasus Railway' (a subsidiary of 'RZD') intends to…
JSC 'South Caucasus Railway' (a subsidiary of 'RZD') intends to continue complying with the concession conditions for railways in Armenia.
Consensus
- RZD's subsidiary, JSC South Caucasus Railway (SKJD), has been managing Armenia's rail transport since 2008 under a concession agreement with Yerevan.
- The concession agreement is valid for 30 years and was established between RZD and the Armenian government.
- RZD claims it fully fulfills its obligations under the concession, including investing in railway development without distributing dividends to its parent company.
- All profits from SKJD have been reinvested into railway infrastructure.
- If Armenia changes or terminates the agreement unilaterally, RZD reserves the right to expect return of its investments.
- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated that Armenia has the right to decide how to use state-owned railways and is open to discussing transfer of control.
Points of divergence
- Pashinyan proposed transferring the concession to a friendly country, such as Kazakhstan. — kommersant
- Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu stated that Russian investments in Armenia's railways exceeded 30 billion rubles over the past 20 years and called Armenia’s intention to end Russian management an 'unworked-out' decision. — vedomosti
Coverage (3 sources)
- RZD will wait for return of investments upon termination of concession on Armenian railway — Коммерсантъ
- RZD intend to continue fulfilling obligations under the concession in Armenia — Ведомости
- Belozеров: RZD fully fulfills obligations within the concession framework in Armenia — Вечерняя Москва