In 2017, the 600-kilometer Meghri-Bavra highway will be fully in line with international standards.  The Government of Armenia has decided to implement a multi-stage project called North-South Transport Corridor.  The Asian Development Bank is providing financial support to the Ministry of Transport and Communication of Armenia for the second stage of the project. The project plans the expansion of the Ashtarak-Gyumri highway from two lanes to four.   On 27 May, public discussions were organized in Maralik and Gyumri to explore the impact that the project could have on the environment, both on the natural surroundings and on the numerous archeological sites in the area.  Asian Development Bank consultant Klaus Schomfeld stated that at this stage the discussions were focusing on the impact along the 88 km stretch of road between Ashtarak and Gyumri. According to plans, all communities located near the highway would have two-way roads connecting them to the transport corridor.  The highway is expected to circumvent Gyumri. The people responsible for the project said that there would be certain issues linked to the construction, such as limiting traffic on the roads at certain times, transporting heavy technical equipment, dust, noise and air pollution as well as some related social impact. “From an archeological point of view the situation is worse, because we have 21 monuments and archeological sites along the length of this road and God only knows how many more will be discovered during the construction work,” Boris Gasparyan worried, “We have involved archeologist Hamazasp Khachatryan in this project in order to understand how to conduct excavation work before some of the construction is done.  We have 10 hotspots in Aragatsotn marz and the situation in Shirak is worse because some of them stretch for kilometers.” The organizers of the discussion promised to reconvene in a month to hear out all proposals and suggestions.