A section of the North-South Highway.
The LG27 section of Armenia's North-South Highway, undertaken by POWERCHINA, has achieved dual-lane operation, marking a significant breakthrough in upgrading Europe and Asia's land transport corridor.
The highway stretches 556 kilometers and serves as the only main road running north to south through the country, acting as a vital transportation "artery" for the entire nation.
The LG27 section, the most critical upgrade of the entire route, spans 27 kilometers and is built to a dual-lane standard. After the upgrade, the travel speed on this section has increased from 60 km/h to 100 km/h, cutting the travel time along the north-south route by 50 percent. It now takes only five hours to travel the full length and directly connects the two major hub ports of Abbas Port in Iran and Poti Port in Georgia.
POWERCHINA innovatively addressed the challenge of adapting local materials to meet the American AASHTO road construction standards, which were used for the first time in Armenia. By optimizing the filling process and using the bearing plate method to measure the compaction of the roadbed, POWERCHINA reduced the number of filling layers, saving a significant amount of time and greatly improving construction efficiency. This also resulted in a set of technically valuable solutions with the potential for wider application.
The opening of the LG27 section has significantly enhanced the efficiency of Eurasian land transport. Compared to traditional sea transport, freight from Central Europe passing through this highway can save over 14 days in transit time. Chinese export goods can now be efficiently transshipped through the Central Asia-Caucasus corridor.
This highway improves Armenia's national road network and is an important land bridge node under the Belt and Road Initiative, injecting new vitality into regional economic development.
