Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan has paid a working visit to the country’s Ararat province, the Government press-service reports.

Abrahamyan first visited local Aintab community, where he talked to the residents, got familiarized with their issues and answered a number of their questions. 

According to the Aintab residents, one of the most important issues of the community is that of portable water, which is supplied with interruptions. The PM instructed those responsible to carry out corresponding activities and solve the issue of water supply as soon as possible.

Hovik Abrahamyan was then briefed on the construction of Culture House in Aintab. The project is assessed at 592 mln AMD, the work of 140 mln AMD having already been carried out. A music school and gym will also operate in the Culture House. The construction work will be completed in 2017.

Afterwards, the PM visited the town of Masis.  A consultation headed by Abrahamyan and attended by the heads of Masis region communities took place in the city hall. Ararat province governor Rubik Abrahamyan reported that the organization of agricultural, including grape procurement activities is successfully carried out in the province. Projects aimed at the improvement of infrastructures, specifically through the renovation of educational institutions, roads, water supply systems and roofs, are carried out.  

The head of the government also visited Voske Katsin Armenian-Iranian slaughter house in the town of Masis, which has been operating since 2015. Around $3 mln was invested in the construction of the slaughter-house, which now employs 100 people. 650 heads of sheep and lambs are slaughtered in one shift, from which 10-11 tons of meat is received.

The slaughterhouse by-products are processed. The received hide is sent to an Armenian-Italian organization operating in Masis, where it is processed and exported to Italy.

Since 2015, overall 50,000 heads of sheep and lambs have been slaughtered, 30,000 heads being slaughtered in the period from January to July. The by-products have been exported to Iran.

The slaughter house has also got a meat packaging unit, where the meat is frozen. Currently, the frozen meat is exported to Iran, but there is also demand in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is thus planned to take the number of employees up to 250.

Abrahamyan underscored the importance of the modern slaughter-houses in terms of ensuring and promoting the food safety and development of cattle-breeding.

The PM then visited the dry fruit company of Surenavan, where nearly 250 mln AMD investments have been made since the company’s foundation in 2007. The plant is equipped with modern Ukrainian, Chinese and Korean equipment, which allows procuring 300-350 tons of fruit and berries annually.

Abrahamyan underscored the importance of the plant’s activity and continuous increase of production volumes, noting that the government is ready to discuss ways of providing support to the processing company.

The PM also visited the art school in the town of Vedi, where he got familiarized with the conditions of the educational institution.

Apart form this, the head of the government visited Nor Kharberd and Aralez communities, where he met with the residents, listened to their concerns and answered a number of questions.