Artavazd Hakobyan, mayor of the rural community of Goght in Armenia’s Kotayk Province, is betting that hothouse flower cultivation will pull the area out of the throes of economic depression and into prosperity.

The main player in the recent launching of hot houses in Goght is none other than Aram Gharibyan, the main advisor to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

On the day that a Hetq team visited Goght, an auction to sell off 19 lots of communal land was scheduled. The major bidders for the land were two companies co-founded by Gharibyan.

Mayor Hakobyan praised Gharibyan for making up for a lack of resources with a keen mind for business.

The companies already have a number of hothouses in operation. Some of the land was directly purchased from local residents.

Most of the land purchased at auction is gobbled up directly at the municipality’s asking price. When this reporter asked Mayor Hakobyan why no bartering for price takes place, he said that the two companies involved, Ecotomato Ltd and Armyanski Ourazhay, also pay to have the land rezoned.

In 2013, Goght received 40 million AMD from land auctions and rezoning.

Once the land is purchased the companies are under no obligation to make any investment in the community other than starting up new hothouses.

Artavazd Hakobyan

160 people now work for Ecotomato and the number will rise to 180 by month’s end, according to the mayor and says that another 300 are busy constructing a new hothouse.Nevertheless, Mayor Hakobyan said that last year Ecotomato gifted 6 million AMD towards the construction of a new water pipe.

Mayor Hakobyan says that due to the burgeoning flower business there is no one left in Goght receiving state assistance. He says that the companies first hire those on welfare and single mothers.

In my conversation with the mayor it became apparent that the hothouse sector is headed for further growth and that it will envelop all of Goght’s communal lands.

As we speak, Armyanski Ourazhay hasn’t finished construction of a vegetable hothouse located on 27 hectares.

Mayor Hakobyan says that there are plans to create hothouse operations on 100-120 hectares, of which some 60-70 will be on land in the neighboring village of Garni.