Scientists oppose construction of residential houses near scientific centre in Yerevan

The construction of a residential complex next to the scientific chemical centre in Yerevan will disrupt the operation of expensive sensitive instruments, centre’s experts point out.

On February 17, employees of the Scientific and Technological Centre for Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia held a protest action in front of the government building in Yerevan against the plans to build a residential complex near the scientific centre, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent reported.

According to the police, about 40 people took part in the protest action. They sent a letter to the prime minister’s office demanding “an institutional solution to the problem.”

At present, geological exploration is being carried out on the territory of the future construction site, and only a drilling rig is operating so far, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent has been informed by Robert Akopyan, the deputy science director of the centre, Ph.D. in Chemistry. “What will happen when more than one unit of equipment is working? There will be noise, dust, and also vibration, which can disable our expensive equipment,” the deputy science director said.

This is not the first protest action held by the centre’s employees: on February 14, they gathered in front of the entrance to the scientific centre in order to draw attention to their problem.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 18, 2022 at 09:37 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.