By Hayk Hovhannisyan
Decades after its Soviet-era construction in the 1980s, Yerevan’s underground transit system remains frozen in time, with successive city governments failing to deliver meaningful expansions amid growing urban transportation needs and the capital’s continued population growth. Despite repeated assurances from city officials, plans for new stations continue to face delays and setbacks, with the latest timeline pushing construction further into the future.
In April 2022, Tigran Avinyan, the current mayor of Yerevan representing the ruling Civil Contract party, announced launching a project that would see a new station opened in the district of Ajapnyak, which would become the first station on the right bank of the Hrazdan river, requiring the construction of a new bridge to cross the deep Hrazdan gorge. Weeks later, he also revealed plans for a station near the Petak shopping center, projected to be opened in the middle of an existing line.
Later in October that year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared that construction of the Ajapnyak station would begin in 2024. “I hope the deadlines won’t be violated. I even added some extra time when I said we would start construction in 2024,” Pashinyan stated. Mayor Avinyan echoed this optimism in January 2024, expressing hope to begin construction that same year with a four-year completion timeline. “I hope we can even start construction this year, and if we maintain this pace, we will definitely have the metro station in four years,” Avinyan said.
Construction won’t start before 2026
The design tender for the new Ajapnyak station was first announced in October 2020. A year later, former Mayor Hayk Marutyan signed a $4.6 mln contract with Russian company Metrogiprotrans for design documentation.
Responding to a CivilNet inquiry a week ago, the Yerevan Municipality revealed that the paperwork necessary for the Ajapnyak station is still underway, and construction won’t begin before 2026, adding that the national government plans to allocate approximately $24 million for “preparatory work” next year. Even more concerning, a meeting held in the city hall earlier in July revealed that construction is now scheduled for completion in 2032.
A history of broken promises
The pattern of unfulfilled promises dates back to at least 2007 when then-mayor Yervand Zakharyan announced that the now-terminal Barekamutyun station would be extended to Ajapnyak and the Komitas Avenue. Later during Mayor Gagik Beglaryan’s tenure, officials claimed construction would begin in 2010 or 2011. In 2015, former Mayor Taron Margaryan announced that not one but two new stations would be constructed in Ajapnyak, promising design documentation by year’s end.
Finally, In 2017, Nikol Pashinyan, the Yelk Alliance’s mayoral candidate, promised to build and commission the station by 2022 if elected but lost the election only to become prime minister next year.
This pattern of delays and unfulfilled promises raises serious questions about the city’s ability to deliver on its transportation infrastructure commitments, leaving Yerevan’s residents waiting for improvements that seem out of reach.
The Yerevan Metro
Yerevan’s rapid transit, opened in March 1981, is a legacy of Soviet infrastructure development, though it remains one of the smallest networks among former Soviet cities. The system has 10 stations along a single 12-kilometer line.
Originally designed to address transportation challenges in Armenia’s rapidly growing capital, the metro’s development effectively halted after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with only one station added since then. While the system serves only a few select areas of the city, it remains a vital yet limited transportation artery for Yerevan’s population of over one million.
This article is also available in Armenian
