The section of the North-South transport corridor that passes through Armenia is a very serious alternative and provides an opportunity for access to the Black Sea, which is considered a shorter route. Iran's ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, told this to reporters at the Iranian embassy in Armenia Friday. "The construction work of the section passing through Armenia has already started in southern Armenia—in the Agarak-Kajaran section, and this is a clear plan that must be implemented. The Armenian government has allocated a rather serious budget for the implementation of this construction work in the southern part. We [i.e. Armenia] assess it as a positive step. Construction work has already started in that section; it is the first phase. The second phase will be announced soon, which is the construction of the Kajaran tunnel, for which the tender will be announced. Also, the construction of the road after [Armenia’s] Kajaran [city] to Sisian [city] is expected to be announced in the near future. It will facilitate the traveling of cars through that section," said the Iranian ambassador. He emphasized, however, that these motorways are not substitutes for one another, but complement each other. "The road through the territory of Armenia, through Georgia to the Black Sea reduces the duration of the travel by two days," stressed Mehdi Sobhani.