ARKA Information Agency (Armenia). Business and Privatisation The loan agreement on the North-South corridor construction project between EDB and Armenia takes effect

«In the near time, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Armenia will begin to prepare tender documents to select a contractor and a project supervision advisor. The contractor and the advisor will be selected using international bidding procedures. Construction is planned to start in 2016,» the publication says. The North-South transport corridor connects Central Asia, Iran and India with Georgia, Russia and Europe. It crosses Armenia from south to north and connects with a Georgian road in the south, which runs to the ports of Poti and Batumi (the Black Sea) and then to Russia, the CIS and the EU countries. The allocation of finance for this project from the EFSD was approved by the Fund's Council in July 2014.

EDB is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.

The Eurasian Fund for Stabilisation and Development (EFSD) amounting to US$8.513 billion was formed as the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund on 9 June 2009 by the governments of six countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The objectives of the EFSD are to assist its member countries in overcoming the consequences of the global financial crisis, ensure their economic and financial stability, and foster integration processes in the region.

The member states of the EFSD appointed EDB as its manager.