Closed Market to officially open on October 9

The Closed Market in Yerevan will open officially on October 9, although trade is already conducted there, Aysor.am was informed by Levon Khachatrian who is charge of construction work in the Closed Market. According to him, the opening ceremony will start at 12 noon.

Yesterday the deputy of Heritage parliamentary faction Zaruhi Postanjian once again applied to law enforcers, demanding opening a criminal case related to the Closed Market.

Construction work at the Closed Market began in January 2012. It was initially planned to do construction work only in the underground section of the market. The work started based on a conclusion of Culture Ministry, according to the plan coordinated with Yerevan Municipality. Yet it became clear months later – in May 2012 that the arch-shaped reinforced concrete frames at the rear of the market were demolished.

Culture Ministry demanded that the owner should develop a project of restoration of the demolished arches and submit it to the ministry, which was not done. On May 13, 2013 the ministry sent a letter to the Yerevan Municipality, asking it to take measures to stop the illegal construction work in the Closed Market considered a monument and establish control there. In its recent letter, Yerevan Municipality stated about the need to stop the illegalities at the building site and then continue construction work based on the urban development documents. Yet the municipality’s demand was not met. The latest photos show that the market was divided into several stories.