YEREVAN. – The current prices of the rail freight in Armenia require maximum savings on the part of the South Caucasus Railway (SCR) company, and they give the minimum profits, SCR General Director Victor Rebets told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

But, as per Rebets, this could not have been any other way, since the price of electricity increased by 42 percent in 2013, and by another 11 percent this year.

“We have used all the possible reserves to reduce the workload of the freight senders and recipients, [and have] developed a resource- and energy-savings program. This has enabled us to reduce the pressures on the [freight] prices.

“Last year, however, our profitability totaled 3 percent. And which business will adapt to it? We are an investment company created to invest in the development of the railway infrastructure of Armenia,” the SCR chief said, in particular.

He added that even though the current freight rates in Armenia are still lower than in Georgia, this difference was even more marked prior to the currency exchange rate fluctuations in November and December.

The South Caucasus Railway company is the concessionaire of Armenia’s railways.