For Immediate Release
April 12, 2010

FUNDS RAISED DURING PHONATHON 2009 HELP REBUILD ASKERAN WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS

NEW YORK, New York — Armenia Fund has launched a major infrastructure project in Askeran City, the capital of Artsakh’s Askeran Region, seeking to rebuild its crumbling potable-water and sewer networks. The initiative is co-financed by the Armenia Fund, France — through donations received during the 2009 Pan-European Phonathon — and the government of Artsakh.

Commenting on priority issues facing Askeran today, Albert Avanesyan, head of the region’s Urban Development Department, identified the potable-water problem as the most urgent. Currently drinking water reaches Askeran City through rusted pipes and at minimal volume – due to water loss caused by an extensively damaged network. Askeran’s aging sewer system is also in a state of disrepair, posing serious health risks. Avanesyan added that another obstacle affecting the growth of the city is the recent decline in the number of marriages, a phenomenon brought on by the lack of affordable housing, he said.

With the earthwork already completed, construction crews are now rebuilding Askeran’s internal water-distribution system by installing new pipes, which by the project’s end will cover the network’s close to six-kilometer overall length. Also to be built are a 50-meter-long embankment along the shore of the Badara River, meant to prevent a riverbank collapse, and a water-purification station. Finally, the project will include the reconstruction of two water reservoirs (with a total capacity of 1,000 cubic meters) and the sewer network.

“As the lack of access to water remains a critically urgent issue in Armenia and Artsakh, Armenia Fund is committed to helping address the problem as a matter of highest priority,” said Ara Vardanyan, the Fund’s executive director. “We are deeply grateful to our compatriots across Europe, whose generous contributions during the 2009 Pan-European Phonathon made the Askeran infrastructure project possible.”

Nestled in northeastern Artsakh, the Askeran Region borders Azerbaijan on the east. Of the area’s some 17,600 residents, 2,100 live in Askeran City.

ABOUT ARMENIA FUND USA: founded in 1992, was one of the first of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 18 international affiliates and serves constituents in all states east of the Mississippi. As a non-profit, non-governmental, nonsectarian organization, the Fund represents all Armenian constituents. Armenia Fund USA is the largest contributor among the 18 international affiliates – supporting strategic infrastructure projects in Armenia and Karabakh. The Fund has adopted a policy to go “Beyond Bricks and Mortar” to provide sustainability for projects it sponsors.

To learn more about Armenia Fund USA, please visit our website at
www.ArmeniaFundUSA.org or call us at 212-689-5307.