Yerevan /Mediamax/. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reworked details of a loan agreement with Armenia to speed aid to the country, approved in Mach, 2009.

Mediamax reports referring Dow Jones that the changes allow for Armenia to immediately receive an additional $60 million from its $822.7 million loan facility. The country already has drawn more than $400 million from the facility.

IMF decision is conditioned by a more severe economic decline in Armenia, which turned out to be worse than anticipated. IMF notes that Armenia is among the countries that suffered most from the financial crisis in Eastern Europe.

"The fall in remittances and the collapse in the construction sector have caused a more severe economic contraction and lower fiscal revenue than anticipated," said Takatoshi Kato, IMF Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair.

The IMF is expecting Armenia's economic output could contract by as much as 15.6% this year.
"Growth is expected to resume gradually in 2010, although risks remain," Takatoshi Kato said.