"Zhoghovurd" daily writes:
"On October 13, preliminary public hearings were held in the village of Ginevet, Vedi community, regarding the mineral extraction works of limestone marls of Karmir Sar presented by "Ord Group" LLC. The project also envisages the construction of a cement factory. This is the first round of public discussions. According to the authors of the project, an investment of 25 million drams is planned, which can reach up to 35 million if necessary. Before that, the environmental activists called on the residents of the neighboring villages to come and prevent the risks that open pit mining threatens agriculture.
In a conversation with "Zhoghovurd" daily newspaper, Arpine Khachatryan, the president of Aygezard "Koriz" youth and community development center NGO, said that factual grounds were brought to prevent the operation of the mine. First, "Ord Group" LLC presented the conclusion of the Takhtajyan Institute of National Academy of Sciences, according to which there is no red book plant in the area of operation of the mine. However, Arpine went with the young people of the village, took pictures and even noted their coordinates.
"We had a conclusion from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that there are 14 species of plants registered in the Red Book, and there are 16 species of animals.
According to the RA constitution, it is forbidden to carry out mining in such an area," says Arpine. Mining is prohibited, but it is not prohibited to carry out business on the principle of brother-in-law-acquaintance-friend. So, who fought to turn Red Mountain into a mine? Karmir Sar, having limestone resources, was the target of attention of several miners at the same time: "ML Mining" LLC, "DIGENDIG" LLC, "GRANULS" LLC, "ORD" LLC, "ORD GROUP" LLC. These organizations are connected or affiliated with former officials. One of those fighting for the mine is "ML Mining" LLC, whose 100% shareholder is Davit Sukiasyan, the former chief of staff of the RA Special Investigation Service (SSS).
In April 2024, the government approved the plan to build the "Avan Towers" apartment complex for about 1,000 civil servants, proposed by "ML Mining" LLC. The owners of the next companies fighting for the mine, the Ordukhanyan family, owners of "ORD" LLC and "ORD GROUP" LLC, Samvel and Tigran Ordukhanyan, are also involved in a similar program.
It has become clear that the EIA examination center of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia gave a negative conclusion to the application submitted by "ORD" LLC regarding the mining of limestone pumice stones in the territory of Karmir Sar. After the public pressure, all the companies, realizing the subsequent difficulties and the problems that arose, stopped the idea of turning the mountain into a mine, except for Ordukhanyan's "ORD GROUP" LLC. The Ordukhanians are building a new building in Yerevan, in the center of the city, at the Abovyan-Tumanyan intersection.
The building has a well-known history, because due to the construction, the adjacent private houses, one of which belongs to the deacon Andranik, are endangered. According to the agreement between the Ordukhanyans and the Kentron administrative district of the Yerevan Municipality, after building the first floor of the 12-story residential building, the company should donate it to the community as a free kindergarten. The Ordukhanyans, ignoring any complaints, are still active in construction, and this indulgence was done with the light hand of Armen Avinyan, the father of Mayor Tigran Avinyan. "Zhoghovurd" daily was assured that Avinyan's father was the director of one of Ordukhanyan's companies.
We tried to ask Arpine Khachatryan if she is aware. Arpine confirmed that he understood from the conversations of the residents in the village and from their words that there is such a thing. "Zhoghovurd" daily called Ordukhanyan. the person who answered the call insisted that Ordukhanyan was in a consultation and would call back according to priority. However, we did not receive a call from him until late in the evening."
