French-Russian venture to invest $30 bln in Caucasus tourismFebruary 8, 2012 - 19:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A French-Russian joint venture company will invest 30 billion dollars to develop tourism infrastructure in the Caucasus region, a Russian politician said Wednesday, February 8, M&C reported quoting DPA. The money will go towards the renovation of skiing and seaside resorts, and could create as many as 330,000 jobs in the territory, said Senator Akhmed Bilalov in a meeting with journalists in Russia's Foreign Ministry. The Black Sea city of Sochi, the venue of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, will receive funding along with four other districts slated for intensive tourism infrastructure development, he said. The French-Russian group International Caucasus Development will oversee the project, said Bilalov. Russia's Arkhys resort in the foothills of Mount Elbrus, which at 5,642 metres is Europe's highest mountain, is the first district scheduled for an upgrade. Some new tourist facilities will be ready for visitors in December, Bilalov said. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in August announced plans for a joint venture to invest as much as 30 billion dollars in tourism industry infrastructure in the Caucasus districts. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |