ARARAT VILLAGE — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the opening of the GTB Steel company’s steel rebar manufacturing plant in the Ararat community. During his visit, the Prime Minister toured the facility, reviewed the investments made, and assessed the plant’s production capacity.
According to officials, the plant has an annual production capacity of 112,800 tons, with a total investment of $31 million. Currently, the facility employs 240 workers, with plans to increase the workforce to over 500 within the next three years.
The plant is equipped with two 25-ton capacity induction furnaces for electric thermal production, a continuous rolling machine, and a rebar production line. The raw materials used in production include scrap metal and sponge iron, while the final products consist of steel rebars, pipes, grinding balls, and hot and cold rolled coils.
Additionally, a 40,000 kVA transformer substation has been built, along with a 110 kV overhead power transmission line and a new power cell at the “Ararat 2” station.
The metallurgical plant was originally being constructed in Yeraskh, just 800 meters from the contact line. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology claimed that the project posed a threat to the region’s environmental security and could potentially pollute the waters of the Araks River.
A few days after this statement, on June 14, 2023, Azerbaijan opened fire at the construction site of the plant, resulting in injuries to two Indian nationals who were working on the project.
Following this incident, on December 14, 2023, the Government of Armenia decided to relocate and construct the plant in Ararat village.