YEREVAN — The Yerevan Municipality has announced plans to clear construction debris from the area adjacent to the Meridian Expo Center in the Hrazdan Gorge, following an inquiry from Hetq.

The COP17 global conference is being held at the venue.

The announcement follows reports from Hetq documenting the illegal dumping of soil and rock debris into the gorge during nearby construction activities. In its official response, the Municipality revealed that an administrative protocol was issued against Meridian Holding CJSC on November 18, 2025, for executing unauthorized road reconstruction work near 1 Voskerichneri Street without the required urban planning documentation.

After the citation, the municipality issued formal construction permits on July 31, 2026, for the reconstruction, completion, and extension of an unfinished building at the 1 Voskerichneri Street site. A separate permit for a major renovation of Voskerichneri Street was granted on the same day.

While local authorities stated that the contractor received an explicit warning to comply with environmental legislation during the project, the Municipality's response left critical regulatory gaps unaddressed. Specifically, the city did not clarify how the ongoing progress of the work was actively monitored following the initial November 2025 violations.

Furthermore, officials failed to specify what enforceable measures, beyond a written warning, were implemented to halt the continued dumping of debris into the protected gorge landscape.

The 17th UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan began on October 19, 2026, and is scheduled to run through October 30, 2026. It is currently entering its final stretch as negotiators work to finalize agreements on global biodiversity funding and implementation targets.

(See: Yerevan’s COP-17 Botched Preparations: Construction Waste Tumbling Into Hrazdan Gorge)