Those involved in school construction have been in a very heavy, bitter mood since the beginning of the year, says Pashinyan

“At one time, it seemed to us that money was the biggest problem; if we had money, we would solve all other issues. Now this is a situation where we have money, but we lack fortune, as they say,” stated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during today’s cabinet meeting, addressing quality issues in the school construction sector.

The government discussed a draft amendment to the Law on Normative Legal Acts, aimed at making school construction more profitable for construction companies. According to Pashinyan, companies stated during meetings with him that their profitability in the private sector is 20% or more, while the profitability set for capital construction of schools is 10%. This proposed legislation aims to increase that percentage.

He noted that a certain creative approach needs to be implemented to achieve the anticipated capital construction of schools, health care facilities, and roads. “To be honest, the cabinet members who are involved in this topic have been in a very heavy, bitter mood since the beginning of the year, but on the other hand, I think the path is walked by those who step on it,” said Pashinyan, hinting at the dismissed regional governors and the head of the Urban Development Committee.

He announced that there has been no systematic practice in school and kindergarten construction in the history of the third republic. Declaring that the school construction sector must meet quality standards, Pashinyan stated, “A basketball court must be a basketball court; it cannot be something from the genre of Impressionism.”