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[MosJan]

Diaspora-Motherland


ERNEKIAN TO MANAGE ZVARTNOTS AIRPORT
Argentinean-Armenian entrepreneur Eduardo Ernekian is at present visiting Armenia with an aim to negotiate with Armenian authorities on the right of undertaking the management of the Yerevan’s ‘Zvartnots’ airport.


According to reliable sources the negotiations are on the final stage. The negotiations started this year and most possibly will be over by the end of the year.


It is known that this Argentinean-Armenian businessman manages most of the airports of Argentina. And recently Ernekian’s company undertook the management of the Buenos Ayres airport, as a result of which the latter was fully modernized.


Eduardo Ernekian is famous not only as an entrepreneur, but also as a philanthropist. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of ‘Hayastan’ Pan-Armenian Fund.

[ September 25, 2001: Message edited by: MosJan ]

[edward demian]

Anyone from Argentina here that knows Edward Seferian in Buenos Aires?
The phone number provided by information is never answered.

[MosJan]

"ZVARTNOTS" YEREVAN AIRPORT WILL BE TRANSFERRED UNDER ARGENTINÅ COMPANY MANAGEMENT FOR 50 YEARS
24.09.2001

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Zvartnots" Yerevan Airport will be transferred under management of "Airpuertos Arhentina 2000" for a term of 50 years. The company already controls 33 airports. Chairman of the Company Committee Eduardo Ernekian and Chief of civil aviation Central Administrative Board Sergey Yeritsian signed a mutual understanding memorandum, which stipulated for "Airpuertos Arhentina 2000" Company's obligation to invest 50 million dollars in development of the airport. This is a preliminary figure, which can be reconsidered before signing the treaty, as the Armenian side considers 50 million not to be enough for a fifty-year-long lease.
Saturday President of Armenia Robert Kocharian received Ernekian, who presented his proposals and plans to the President. The head of the Argentinean Company particularly pointed out the necessity for repairs of the landing strip and providing the airport with up-to-date equipment, and personnel retraining. In Ernekian's opinion, investments in management of the airport will allow to make Armenia a centre of tourism and to operate in the back. He is convinced that "Zvartnots" Airport will become the regional centre of air communication in the course of time.


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[MosJan]

Argentine Tycoon To Run Armenia’s Main Airport

Saturday, September 22, 2001
By Hrach Melkumian

The government and an Argentinian billionaire of Armenian origin, Eduardo Eurnekian, finalized on Saturday an agreement that will place Armenia’s main airport under his control for the next 50 years. Eurnekian’s Aeropuertos Argentina group will be granted management rights to Zvartnots International Airport in a deal which officials hope will bring it into conformity with international standards.

The Argentinian tycoon pledged to invest $50 million for that purpose. The money will be spent on construction of new airport facilities, upgrading of existing ones and re-training of personnel. It will also be used for boosting safety standards at Zvartnots, including the expansion of its runway.

The chief of Armenia’s civil aviation authority, Hovannes Yeritsian, told reporters after signing a “memorandum of mutual understanding” with the Argentinian company that the investments are vital for the aviation sector. He said that adequate airport infrastructure and services will benefit the tourism sector by helping the country attract more visitors.

Zvartnots, which was built in 1981, will remain state-owned despite being run by a foreign company. It is expected that a final agreement on the change of management will be signed during President Robert Kocharian’s visit to Argentina due later this year or early next year.

Kocharian welcomed the planned deal on Saturday. “The state is not the most efficient owner,” he told Eurnekian at his official residence. “The executive authority should not run a business, it should create normal conditions for economic activity.”

With Aeropuertos Argentina owning and operating 33 airports across South America, Eurnekian is thought to be one of the wealthiest ethnic Armenians in the world. A member of the Board of Trustees of the All-Armenian Fund Hayastan, he has donated over $1 million to the charity.

Speaking to journalists, Eurnekian indicated that he is unlikely to take part in the planned privatization of the state-run Armenian Airlines. The government so far has set no dates for the start of what is likely to be an international tender for the troubled national carrier.


Copyright © 2001. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. http://www.rferl.org

[MosJan]

By Hrach Melkumian

An Argentine billionaire of Armenian origin, Eduardo Eurnekian, signed on Monday an agreement with the Armenian government giving him control of Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport for the next 50 years.

Eurnekian’s Aerpouertos Argentina group, which runs 33 airports across South America, will invest at least $50 million to bring the Soviet-era facility into conformity international standards. The company will build a new modern airport terminal within the next three years that will handle the bulk of flights to and from Armenia.

Under the terms of the concession agreement signed by Eurnekian and Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, Aerpouertos Argentina will also expand Zvartnots’s runway and upgrade other airport facilities.

“Our goal is not only to construct a good airport but also ensure high quality services there,” Eurnekian said at the signing ceremony in President Robert Kocharian’s official residence.

“We are interested in having an airport that meets all international standards,” Kocharian said.

According to Justice Minister David Harutiunian, Argentine investments in Zvartnots could reach $80 in the next ten to fifteen years. Its existing main terminal was built in 1981 and handled more than 550,000 passengers last year. The new operator wants to increase the number by five percent each year.

Zvartnots will technically remain state-owned despite being run by a foreign company. Tentative agreement on the transfer of its management rights to the Argentine company was reached in late September. Eurnekian decided to go ahead with the deal despite a severe economic crisis in Argentina and a slump in the global aviation industry since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Armenian officials say the long-term concession will make the entire aviation sector more efficient. They also hope that adequate airport infrastructure and services will make the country more attractive to foreign investors and tourists.