The border village of Martiros in Armenia's Vayots Dzor province has more than 700-year-old history with a significant cultural heritage. However, it had remained with unlighted streets since 1990s. Owing to a two-stage program, the situation has changed dramatically.

As a result of cooperation between the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) and VivaCell-MTS, in the framework of Altnerative Energy project, 52 LED lights were installed in Martiros in 2016 illuminating 1716 m long territory. This year, owing to the second stage of the project, the number of energy efficient outdoor LED lights increased with 38. Now the territory of the village is fully illuminated.

The old territory of Martiros has also been illuminated, since there is a functioning church.

VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian, founder of FPWC Ruben Khachatryan, head of Zaritap community Simon Babayan, and village residents attended the launching ceremony of the newly constructed energy-efficient system.

“Times and circumstances cause significant difference in the pace of development between the capital and the provinces, particularly in border regions. The gap hinders to the proportionate development of the country in general. Our efforts jointly made with the partner organization in the frames of numerous programs have been steered to the development of infrastructure in the regions. We are glad to see that the outdoor lighting problem is solved in this village, too, to help provide residents’ safety. That is the most important advantage, yet, it is not the only one: we will be able to assess the economic efficiency of the energy-saving system in the future,” said Yirikian.

Use of environmentally friendly energy-saving outdoor LED lights is economically efficient for villages with modest budgetary resources. The newly installed system decreases outdoor lighting expenditure by 80 per cent, thus curtailing the financial burden of the village. The saved money can be used for the solution of other issues.

The streets of the village will be illuminated from 21:00 until 00:00 in summer time and from 18:00 till 23:00 in winter. During holidays, the illumination will be provided for the whole night.