Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On September 17, 2010, the Chinese Ambassador to Armenia, Tian Changchun, and Armenian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Manasarian, signed the exchange of letters for the China-Armenian bus-project. On July 14, 2011, the agreement was finalized and China agreed to donate RMB 55 million worth of city buses to Armenia. This donation was made through an economic and technical cooperation agreement (ETCA) signed on April 12, 2011 (see Record ID#66424). China will donate 249 buses and spare parts in two increments to Yerevan, Armenia's capital, to improve public transport. According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the first batch consists of 66 buses and will be delivered to Yerevan in November 2011, and the second batch, consisting of 180 buses, will be delivered in the first quarter of 2012. In concurrence with this donation, the Armenian government plans to replace the bus system by reducing the size of the minibus fleet to about half (1500 Vehicles), while increasing the number of large buses to 850-870 (中国将援助亚美尼亚80-100辆公交大巴，改善埃里温市的公交状况). By March 24, 2012, the buses had arrived in Yerevan. The buses will be designed based on the "China Aid" logo. They will have the words "China-Asia Friendship" printed on them in the Central Asian language and will also have designs of the Great Wall of China and the Republic Square of Armenia printed on them.