Viva-MTS: Border village Berdavan is almost completely illuminated

Berdavan is one of the villages of Tavush region where the infrastructures working with new technologies have been installed since 2016. The result of the long-term impact program has increased year by year: new streets were illuminated, the financial burden of the community was reduced, and the partners for years, Viva-MTS and the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), supported the village in this matter. A summary of the partnership shows that developing infrastructures in remote and especially border villages has become a principled approach for the supporting parties.

By 2021, 440 LED-lights have been installed in Berdavan under the joint project of Viva-MTS and FPWC. As a result of the introduction of the energy-saving system, 15 km of roads were illuminated. In 2022, the number of energy-saving exterior lighting LED lights was increased by another 65, lighting up a total of 2.3 km of road. With the street lighting program alone, 505 LED-lights were installed between 2016 and 2022, illuminating a road of around 17.3 km. After the last project, Berdavan has almost solved the problem with external lighting. The Noyemberyan community administration also contributed to the implementation of the projects.

“Over the years, we have reached such a point that we already have an almost 100% illuminated village. The program is important from several perspectives: pedestrians at night are safe, community funds are saved, and the youth, seeing the result, tries to see their future in the village. If the infrastructures in the village are not developed, the villagers will not stay here. Our main problem is to create favorable conditions to keep them in the village,” said Aram Zurabyan, the administrative head of Berdavan.

In Berdavan, they are convinced that the development of infrastructures and the implementation of various programs will allow to mitigate the difference in the pace of development between the capital and the regions as much as possible. And the perspective of balanced development will contribute to the possibility of using the potential of young people in birthplace.

As a result of the cooperation between Viva-MTS and FPWC, in 2022 more than AMD 120 million were invested in the development of infrastructures in various communities in Armenia. LED lamps are more efficient and durable, last much longer and consume 80% less electricity.