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On March 21, at the extraordinary sitting chaired by Gevorg Papoyan, the RA NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs debated the draft law on Ratifying “Yerevan Bus Program” loan agreement signed on November 24, 2021 between the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan Bus CJSC and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The RA Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Simonyan noted that the amount of the grant is €5 million. A new route network of public transport was developed by the WYG International Limited consulting company and provided to the Yerevan Municipality within the framework of the Sustainable Urban Development Investment Program. According to it, it is necessary to purchase 845 buses of different sizes for the service of the route network. The issue of the financial support for the introduction of the rolling stock of the new transport network was discussed by the Yerevan Municipality in the spring 2019 with the EBRD, which expressed its readiness to support the acquisition of buses within the framework of relevant sovereign loan agreement. According to the preliminary estimate, €120-150 million will be needed to purchase the total number of buses.

Based on the preliminary agreement reached between the RA Government and the EBRD for the financing of the first phase of the acquisition of buses (€25 million, out of which €5 million grant provided by the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership Fund (E5P) and the urgency of transport reforms, within the framework of the first stage of the transport reform program, the Yerevan Municipality announced a two-stage tender for Advanced Procurement on February 1, 2021 for the acquisition of 100 12-metre low-floor Compressed Natural Gas ("CNG") buses. The deadline for submission of bids was March 31, 2021. The proposals currently received are being evaluated.

It was also noted that the agreement may create additional financial obligations for the RA state budget.

The Committee members endorsed the draft law.