In September 2021 we applied to the Ministry of Economy and State Committee of Urban Development to learn in what phase the discussion of the project of construction of the ski resort by “Aragate Investments” on the slope of Mount Aragats was. From both agencies we received answers saying, in essence, almost nothing with the Ministry of Economy offering to apply to the Urban Development Committee and the later offering to apply to the Ministry of Economy.

On February 7 Civilnet published “France is dissatisfied with the Armenian government’s handling of the Aragats ski resort project” article which particularly said that “Aragate Investments” company’s investment project to build ski complex “has become a point of contention between Armenia and France.”

On February 10 Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said when selecting an investor for construction of ski resort on the slope of Mount Aragats “the working group was guided by the interests of the citizens of Armenia and not the French government.” He clarified that two projects were presented, and the working group stopped its choice on the offer of the Russian investor.

In its article Civilnet said that the owner of “Aragate Investments” is Russian businessman Nikolay Sarkisov and the project was to be implemented by the French company Société des Trois Vallées, which is the managing company of Courchevel resort in France.

Mediamax spoke with the CEO of Société des Trois Vallées, Member of the Board of Directors of Aragate Investments Pascal de Thiersant.

You’ve said that the Aragate Investments project was discussed at the meeting of the Armenian-French Economic Cooperation working group. Will you unveil the details -- what was discussed and whether the Armenian side has given a preliminary consent to the project?

The French inquiry was mainly about the status of the project. The commission established by the Ministry of Economy of Armenia to evaluate the project completed its work in mid-September 2021. The Armenian-French Economic Cooperation working group session took place on December 9. It has been a while since the commission finished its work… and for us the status of the project was not clear.

The Armenian authorities, including the Urban Development Committee, Ministry of Economy, the Governor’s office of the Aragatzotn province, and the Cadastre Committee were all aware of our work and our multiple visits to Armenia. We signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Urban Development Committee on January 13, 2020 in Courchevel, France.

We were informed that the intergovernmental commission has only the mandate to provide an expert opinion and does not have any authority to make a final decision. The conclusion of the commission was submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister. That conclusion was not favorable for us, and we would like to know more about the status and work criteria of the commission.

You have also mentioned that currently French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is negotiating with Armenia’s Ministry of Economy. What are these negotiations about?

France is a state that always supports French businesses abroad. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs promotes the international development of French companies and supports government action focused on competitiveness, growth, and jobs. In diplomatic posts abroad, ambassadors and their advisers are committed to making it easier for our businesses to access international markets.

The former Ambassador of France to Armenia, Jonathan Lacote has been continuously supporting the Aragate project. Ambassador truly described the Aragate as your region’s biggest ski resort coming soon to Armenia. He defined it as the main French investment project in Armenia.

Our intention is to understand criteria and standards of the work of that commission since there are various French companies involved into the Aragate ski resort and four-seasons destination project, and as I said France is a country that supports French businesses.

Government of any country can give preference to one of investment projects if there are many of them. Given the fact that you are dissatisfied, can it be assumed that you have noticed an anti-competitive or non-transparent working style by the Armenian side?

The first problem is the composition of the commission. Unfortunately, the members of the commission seemed to be only administrative officers and did not include any representatives of ski federation of Armenia and other sports federations or executives of the Tourism Committee or hospitality industry.

Needless to say that, they did not have anybody from the government agency that is in charge of the sports in Armenia. As far as I know, in one of the ministries you have a Deputy Minister for sports.

How can administrative officers evaluate ski resort, four-season destination, and urban development project without knowledge and experience in sports, hospitality, tourism and other industries?

The second problem is that the Ministry of Economy rejects to submit the information how members of that commission individually evaluated the project and voted. There should be some other interests here.

Are you going to start any legal proceedings in case the Aragate Investments project is finally rejected by the Government of Armenia?

Armenia and the Aragatzotn province are the ones who are going to lose if the project is not going to be re-evaluated and approved. The Aragate resort would have been the number one ski resort in the region. We conducted the feasibility and other studies of the area and here is the required data of our project for your consideration:

•    Number of ski slopes – 80, including for beginners, intermediate, and expert skiers

•    Total length of ski slopes – 125.8 km

•    Number of the lifts – 30

•    Number of beds in the hotels – 9,000 (for the first phase only in three years).

You can compare these numbers with the resorts in Gudauri and Bakuriani (Georgia), Sochi (Russia), and Turkish resorts. The Aragate resort could have been number one in this region. Moreover, we should have involved 1,600 employees and workers in the construction phase and create 800 jobs for the operating phase of the first three years. If the project approved, our Armenian operating company would be in the top 50 taxpayers of Armenia.

The Aragate project offers considerable opportunities for the development of international tourism in Armenia and marvelous chances to advance sports and healthy lifestyle. This project can also reinforce bilateral relations between France and Armenia and bring lots of benefits to Armenia. Our company, Société des Trois Vallées gets offers of many projects all around the world, and due to its image, chooses only the best ones, and the most emblematic. Aragate is one of them. There is no better place in Armenia to launch a fantastic ski resort. Please, trust me from my experience!

The French companies involved such as Société des Trois Vallées, MDP Consulting, ESF (Ecole du Ski Français), POMA, and others have a capability to bring the best of the best to Armenia but as I said, it is Armenia that is going to lose if the project is not approved.

I believe it is the business of the Armenian law enforcement agencies, and the Armenian public to find out more on the real reasons why this project is not being approved.