At a press conference held earlier today in Yerevan, a number of leading environmental specialists raised the alarm regarding plans to build a luxury high-rise hotel near the vicinity of Republic Square.

Karineh Danielyan, President of the "Sustainable Development" NGO, architect Gagik Soukhudyan, and Ecological-Social Alliance Coordinator Silva Adamyan, argued that the hotel would add to the traffic jams now plaguing parts of Yerevan and that air quality would suffer as a result.

Gagik Soukhudyan told reporters that a majority of members of Armenia's Architects' Union opposed the hotel which, he said, appeared to be the result of somebody's "whim".

He said that architects no longer have a say-so when it comes to the appearance of the city and that they have turned into mere executors for those moneyed developers with clout.

Karineh Danielyan noted that Yerevan already has 17 hotels and that another 4 are on the drawing board. A 25 story hotel is currently being built right next to Hotel Ani.

She pointed out courtyards in Yerevan where luxury residential buildings are now being built, saying that developers will utilize any free space left in Yerevan's downtown area.