The donations received during this year’s telethon organized by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund will be dedicated to the “Artsakh Renaissance” project. The project consists of three stages and its goal is to develop three regions in Artsakh: Martakert, Martuni and Hadrut.
This year, the money collected will be used to reconstruct the region most affected by the Karabagh war: Martakert. According to Minister of Territorial Management and Development of Substructures of Karabagh Arno Tsaturyan, approximately 17 million dollars is needed to implement the project. The project not only includes construction of highways, water pipelines, homes and schools, but also provision of loans to different fields of economy for development in the region as a whole. It is clear that there are many issues to solve in the region, but the most important one is the issue concerning drinking water. According to the residents of Martakert, this issue has always been around but hasn’t been solved to this day. People living here get water once, or at best, two times a week and the water is only enough for drinking. The people use rain water for other needs. That is why many have no faith that the water issue will be solved.
During a speech on Artsakh’s public television, Minister Arno Tsaturyan has stated the fact that different communities within the republic also face the same issue. By referring to the water issue in Martakert, the minister informed the public that the “Artsakh Renaissance” project plans on constructing a water pipeline connecting Skhtorashen-Maghavuz-Martakert. This will solve not only the issue concerning drinking water in the regions, but also the villages within the regions (nearly 10 residencies). According to the minister, there will be work done worth 2 million dollars.
Nearly 100 schools were affected by the Karabagh war. The restoration of schools has been accomplished thanks to the state as well as benefactors. New schools have been constructed in the rehabilitating villages. The Ministry plans on constructing seven complexes in the Martakert region where there will be a school, a library and administrative buildings surrounding the complexes. We must mention the fact that this is being done for the first time in Artsakh. The regional hospital of Martakert also needs to be renovated. True, some departments have been renovated with the help of benefactors, but in general, the hospital is in poor conditions. According to the minister of territorial management and development of substructures, the ministry plans on not only remodeling the regional hospital, but also constructing ambulatories in the five sub regions with new equipment-all with the help of the project implemented by the Hayastan All Armenian Fund. The donations collected during the telethon will be directed towards construction of the highways tying the villages in the region together. Minister A. Tsaturyan believes that, according to the project, loans will be provided for developing economy in the region. For the first time ever, there will be loans provided for a 5-6 year period for business projects. “In 2006, we will implement the rehabilitation project, which will give Martakert refugees to return to the Homeland and resettle,” said the minister.