The twelve-kilometer section of road, in Armenia, connecting it to Artsakh bypassing the town of Berdzor (Lachin), will open on April 1, this according to news conveyed to Hetq by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure (TAI).

The 11.8 km long road section, which starts from the Tegh village section of the M-12 (Goris-Tegh-Berdzor-Stepanakert) interstate road, passes through Kornidzor village, and ends near the state border, on the banks of the Hagari River. The new bridge built over the river is a border junction. Russian peacekeepers are stationed on the other side of the river.

Red - Tegh-Kornidzor-Armenian border road under construction.
Blue - a temporary road that leads from the Goris-Berdzor-Stepanakert roadway to the Hagari border bridge.
Green - Goris-Berdzor-Stepanakert (M-12) road. Currently, the section up to the temporary road is open to traffic.

According to Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Kristine Ghalechyan, although traffic on the new road is planned from April 1, work will continue, and the road will be completely paved with three-layer asphalt and equipped with road signs by the summer.

Azerbaijanis posing as "eco-activists", have closed the Goris-Stepanakert highway since December 12. Azerbaijan has also periodically shut off the natural gas pipeline from Armenia to Artsakh.

On January 9, 2023, an accident occurred on Aghavno-Berdzor section of the high-voltage power line from Armenia to Artsakh.  To this day, Azerbaijan has prevented Armenian repair teams from entering the area.

Azerbaijan, on January 12, cut communication wires linking Armenia and Artsakh. Karabakh Telecom repair workers were allowed to the site, near Shushi, after Russian peacekeepers negotiated with local Azerbaijani authorities. Internet connection was restored.

Given the above cuts to natural gas, electricity and communications, Hetq sent a query to the Armenian government asking whether new infrastructure links to Artsakh are being built in parallel with the construction of the new road.

TAI Deputy Minister Ghalechyan replied that electricity and natural gas is supplied to Artsakh by existing infrastructures that pass through the Tegh-Berdzor section.

Work on a new power line bypassing the town of Berdzor, which came under Azerbaijani control, and passing in the direction of the Tegh-Kornidzor-Armenian state border, is nearing completion. The length of the line is some twelve kilometers.

Ghalechyan said there are no plans to build a new natural gas pipeline to Artsakh. She had nothing to report about new internet cables.

Hetq also wrote to the Nagorno Karabakh government regarding the creation of new infrastructures in the Artsakh region. We are currently awaiting a response to our inquiry.

Top photo: Azerbaijanis carry out technical work on power supply lines running parallel to the Goris-Stepanakert highway, not far from the Shushi-Karin Tak intersection, which came under their control. February, 2021 (photo credit: Saro Baghdasaryan).