The Lifeline Roads Improvement project (LRIP) in Armenia and Armenia Rural Enterprise and Small Scale Commercial Agriculture Development Project were named among the 12 winners in the World Bank’s third annual “Improving the Lives of People in Europe and Central Asia” 2010 competition, the press service of the World Bank Yerevan Office reported .

According to the report, so far out of projected 250 km LRN 150 km have been rehabilitated under the Lifeline Roads Improvement project. It created 12,000 person-months of employment. Travel time was reduced by 40 percent. More importantly, the project enabled rural populations to travel to urban centers where markets and social services are available.

Armenia Rural Enterprise and Small Scale Commercial Agriculture Development Project assisted 132 small and medium agribusinesses to access long-term agricultural credit and generated a total of US$ 10.3 million investments in rural areas. As a result, 450 new permanent jobs were created in rural areas, new modern greenhouses and poultry operations were established.

“Although many countries in the Europe and Central Asia region enjoyed very strong growth and higher living standards throughout the past decade, the global financial and economic crisis has hit this region the hardest,” said Philippe Le Houe'rou, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia.

According to him, the winners of the competition show how innovative projects can improve the daily lives of people in the region despite the harmful effects of the recent financial turmoil on country economies. “The winners demonstrate real results, including job growth, establishment of small businesses and improved enterprise access to financing, improved health care and health protection and rehabilitated water and irrigation systems, etc,” said the WB representative.