Armenia Approves New 2,365-Metre Dilijan Tunnel Among Six Public Investment Projects

Armenia's Public Investment Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, approved six projects at its ninth meeting on 23 October 2026, including a new 2,365-metre road tunnel at Dilijan, according to the Prime Minister's Office. The package covers irrigation, roads, emergency services and national mapping, and all projects presented were approved.

Three of the six belong to a road programme the government calls the Resilient and Inclusive Road Network Improvement Program-2, presented by Kristine Ghalechyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. They are the post-disaster rehabilitation of the M-6 Vanadzor-Alaverdi-Bagratashen highway, the new Dilijan tunnel, and a major repair and modernisation of the Pushkin Tunnel, Armenpress reported.

The road projects

The new Dilijan tunnel would run about 50 metres from the existing one, which would be converted into an evacuation tunnel connected to the new bore every 500 metres. The government's release says the design complies with EU Directive 2004/54/EC on tunnel safety. The M-6 works would repair sections damaged by the May 2024 floods and add bank protection along the Debed River, retaining walls and protection against rockfalls. The Pushkin Tunnel project would restore structural elements, upgrade engineering systems and introduce road and fire safety measures.

The release gives no costs and does not say how the works will be financed. The Asian Development Bank's project database lists a proposed US$165 million loan for a Resilient and Inclusive Road Sector Improvement Project II in Armenia, covering the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Pushkin and Dilijan tunnels and the rebuilding of flood-damaged M6 sections, with the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure as executing agency. The ADB page shows no approval date. Ghalechyan discussed the tunnels and the M-6 project with ADB representatives in July, when she called the bank "one of Armenia's most important partners", according to Armenpress.

Water, rescue and data

Aramazd Ghalamkaryan, Chairman of the Water Committee, presented a plan to pump water from the Her-Her Reservoir to irrigate about 2,440 hectares in 12 settlements of Vayots Dzor province. The reservoir accumulates 26 million cubic metres of water a year, and the project would send an extra 10 to 13 million cubic metres into Lake Sevan. Committee members stressed the need for a feasibility study to assess the energy potential.

Armen Mkrtchyan, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, said the firefighting equipment of the Yerevan City Rescue Department has not been updated since 2010 and breaks down frequently, and that the growing number of high-rise buildings and hazardous industrial sites requires aerial ladder trucks with a reach of at least 35 metres.

Suren Tovmasyan, Head of the Cadastre Committee, presented a National Spatial Data Infrastructure: a unified geodetic reference system, aerial photography and LiDAR mapping of the whole country, high-resolution 3D city models, bathymetric surveys and a modernised National Geoportal, Noyan Tapan reported. In closing, Pashinyan stressed the effective management and implementation of public investment projects.

What it means for business

The M-6 and the Dilijan and Pushkin tunnels sit on Armenia's road links north towards Georgia and the Bagratashen border crossing. The May 2024 flood damage on the M-6 showed how exposed that route is. Approval by the committee moves the projects into the pipeline for budgeting and procurement, which will matter to road builders, tunnel engineers and safety-systems suppliers, as well as to hauliers using the Bagratashen crossing.

The approvals come as construction has been one of the main drivers of the economy, with construction output up 24.7% in the first eight months, and as the government works within the 2027 draft budget with an AMD 468 billion deficit. The costs and financing of the six projects are the figures to watch when they reach the budget and lender boards.