The loan was signed off in Yerevan by Vahe Hovhannisyan, Armenia’s minister of finance, and Nandita Parshad, EBRD’s managing director (EBRD)

Armenia is to be loaned €236m by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a 24km section of road linking the towns of Kajaran and Sisian in the southeast of the country, close to its border with Azerbaijan.

The road will halve the journey time between the Syunik region and Yerevan, and will bolster international trade via the Black Sea.

The road will be part of Armenia’s 556km North-South Corridor.

The EU previously funded the project’s feasibility study and its environmental and social impact assessment.