At a press conference held on September 15, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan spoke about the air quality in Yerevan, emphasizing that the main danger of air pollution is associated with the winter months.
“In the field of environmental protection, the problems mainly occur in winter—the air pollution indicators become quite concerning. The 160 devices installed in the city to measure air quality show that in summer, spring, and early autumn, the air quality is mostly at a good level. It may seem to us that there is a lot of dust, but in reality the main problem appears in winter,” the Mayor said.
According to Avinyan, at present 143 devices measure air quality online, and their averaged indicator for PM2.5 particles—the EQI (Environmental Quality Index)—is 41.2, which is considered “excellent.” However, in winter the same devices turn red, which indicates a significant deterioration in air quality. “An air quality problem does not mean that dust has collected on the windowsill every day; it means how many milligrams of PM2.5 particles are contained in a unit volume of air. Yerevan Municipality has required all major developers to install two air quality measuring devices at their sites. These devices are placed at 4th-risk-level facilities, where active construction is underway,” he explained.
The Mayor also addressed the issue of construction safety nets, noting that the requirement to install nets was adopted by the Yerevan Municipality 2.5 years ago. “The fine for the absence of a net is only 70,000 AMD. The fine amount is not determined by the Municipality of Yerevan or the Yerevan Council; it is decided at the National Assembly level. We are discussing alternative solutions—those developers who fail to ensure proper installation of nets may be deprived of privileges granted by the Municipality starting from 2026. The Yerevan Municipality provides developers with benefits ranging from zero rates to up to 75% discounts,” Avinyan said.
In addition, Tigran Avinyan reported that about 150 pages of comments and suggestions had been received regarding the Law on Local Self-Government in Yerevan. Based on this input, amendments are being developed in the coming weeks, which will also include issues of supervision in the construction sector.
September 17, 2025 at 12:59