https://arka.am-YEREVAN, April 11. /ARKA/. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects Armenia’s economy to grow by 5.7% in 2024, Luke Fochtman, Deputy Director of the Asian Development Bank’s Armenia Resident Mission, said at a press conference today.
According to him, the growth is expected to accelerate to 6 percent in 2025 due to the successful implementation of the government’s expanded infrastructure and housing investment programs
Presenting ADB’s latest Asian Development Outlook 2024 report, Fochman said despite slower year-on-year growth due to some weakening in external demand, expansion in construction and consumption services will remain stable.
“Growth in services is expected to be 9.3 percent in 2024 and 9.4 percent in 2025, driven by greater tourist inflows and reflecting stable but moderate gains in the finance, leisure, retail, transportation, information and communications sectors,” he explained.
According to Fochtman, industry, including construction, is projected to grow by 6.2% in 2024 and 7.4% in 2025, mainly due to the implementation of large-scale construction projects.
Growth in the mining sector, Fochtman said, will depend on global commodity price trends and the opening of new mines.
“Construction growth is projected to reach 16.3% in 2024 and 18.1% in 2025, which is in line with the government’s plans to further increase capital spending and significant public investment in roads and social infrastructure,” he said.
In his turn, Grigor Gyurjian, Senior Economist at ADB’s Armenia Resident Mission, noted that the bank considers only fundamental economic factors when making its forecasts.
“We do not include political and other risks in the calculations of our forecasts,” he added.
Armenian government’s growth projection for 2024 is 7%. -0-