Children in the village of Dovegh, Tavush Province, have once again not started the school year in a new building. The construction of the school, which began back in 2020, remains unfinished even after five years. While authorities insist the project is in an “active phase,” the completion date is still uncertain.

The “Fact-Checking Platform” examined the five-year odyssey surrounding Dovegh School’s construction.

The Beginning of Construction

Everything started in 2020, when the Urban Development Committee announced an open tender for the construction of a new school building for the village’s secondary school. Three companies participated:

“Kanjilstroy LLC” — 743.2 million AMD
“Gevorgyan and Nersisyan LLC” — around 900 million AMD
“T-Construction LLC” — 1.1 billion AMD

The winner was “Kanjilstroy”, which signed a contract on November 26, 2020, for 743 million AMD.

However, construction did not actually begin until two years later — in December 2022.

Why Was Construction Delayed?

FIP.am had applied to the Urban Development Committee with a request and asked why the start of construction work was delayed for two years. It turns out that the procurement competition and the selection of the construction site, an in-depth study of the school site were not conducted, complications arose, as a result of which the start of construction was delayed.

“The community proposed a territory divided into several plots for the construction of the school, but the weak community constructed a clarification of the boundaries of the plot. There was a need to locate the project on a plot with new boundaries. For this purpose, the positions of the school buildings and the stadium were changed. The construction of a high-rise retaining wall was mandatory for the construction of the school on the allocated land,” the Urban Development Committee provided as an explanation. We were interested in whether this means a correct assessment of the relief and soil conditions, which is not included in the announcement, and what additional funds from the state budget mean. In response, they are from Kaghshin and that the land allocated by the community was the only option, there was no alternative to that area in the village. The initial project was later changed and underwent changes, for example, the 7 m high retaining wall was replaced with a 12 m high reinforced concrete retaining wall, the initial cost set by the contract was increased by 400 million drams by the agreement signed in November 2023.

After the signing of the contract for the construction of the school, the positions of the stadium and buildings changed, and the need to build a high-rise retaining wall arose. Changes to the project and documentation are being delayed. The construction permit was issued only on December 22, 2022.

The cost of the school construction project, initially estimated at 743 million drams, is 1.2 billion drams.

Violations and court proceedings

On February 14, 2025, the Urban Development Committee unilaterally terminated its contract with “Kanjilstroy”, citing delays, poor quality, and missing documentation. “Kanjilstroy” appealed to court, halting construction, but in April the court rejected its claim. By then, the company had been paid 266 million AMD for completed work.

According to the Committee, “Kanjilstroy” was fined 244,000 AMD for violations and 122 million AMD was recovered as part of the contract’s performance and qualification security.

A new tender, a new contractor

After the failed cooperation with “Kanjilstroy”, the government twice announced urgent tenders in May 2025, but no bidders came forward. In June, the Committee bypassed the tender process and signed a direct contract with a new contractor. The new contractor, “Prom Group LLC”, undertook to complete the remaining work for 985 million AMD (down from the offered ceiling price of 1.055 billion AMD). They were given 365 calendar days to finish.

The Committee announced on July 4 that construction would finally be completed, urging “Prom Group LLC” to work quickly and with proper quality, building the school and retaining wall in parallel to mitigate risks.

Technical supervision — Old Issues, same company

Technical supervision is still being carried out by “Miknar LLC”, the same company responsible in the first stage. Its role is to record all phases in the construction logbook and ensure quality control.

However, FIP.am observed no representative from “Miknar” at the site and was denied access to the previous contractor’s construction logbook, which the Committee claimed remained with “Kanjilstroy” due to the terminated contract and unfinished works. Moreover, when “Prom Group” began, no new logbook was available, despite legal requirements. The Committee admitted “Miknar” was only given an oral warning to properly fulfill its duties, explaining that retaining the same supervisor was necessary to avoid further delays.

This raises questions: why was there time to announce two tenders for a new contractor, but none for a new supervisor? How can construction proceed without a logbook? And why is the old contract still valid if a new order requires the supervisor’s presence on-site?

Links between “Miknar” and a former minister

FIP.am had previously investigated “Miknar”, revealing ties to former Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan. The company was originally registered under Parandzem Nazinyan, the wife of Khachatur Hamzyan, a ruling party member of the Ijevan municipal council. Hamzyan and Ghazaryan’s wife are relatives.

Statistics show “Miknar”’s business grew significantly after Ghazaryan’s appointment.

Five years later

In summary, the construction of Dovegh School began in 2020. In five years, costs rose by 26%, the first contractor was dismissed for violations, and children are still studying in the old building.

Although the new contractor has pledged to finish within a year, oversight remains in the hands of a company that previously overlooked violations.

Hasmik Hambardzumyan

Source: Fact-Checking Platform (FIP.am)

The village of Dovegh in Tavush region borders Azerbaijan for about 15 km. Bordering Dovegh is one of the oldest settlements in the Noyemberyan community of Tavush region, it can be said that the residents of Dovegh live in the enemy’s observation post.

Despite a number of problems, the residents of Dovegh try not to leave their native village and try to make it so that people from other places come and enjoy the nature of Dovegh, visit ancient churches and get acquainted with the rich history of their village.

The construction of a new school is an important event for the residents of Dovegh, it is in a safer area and is provided with shelters.

The small number of young people in the village spare no effort to be active and attract public attention to their native Dovegh.

Author: Hranush Ananyan, a correspondent for Tavush Media from the Noyemberyan community.

On November 29, the opening ceremony of Dovegh village park,  renovated by the “Dovegh” charitable foundation, took place.

According to the director of the fund, the renovation of the park was the concluding point of the three-year program of the “Dovegh” fund. The purpose of “Dovegh” Foundation is to encourage settlement and resettlement in the village.

The details in the reportage of Tavush Media reporter Hranush Ananyan.