The Russian government is working to enhance the clearance capacity of the border crossing points at the Russian-Georgian border, including the Upper Lars (Verkhniy Lars) checkpoint, the Russian Ministry of Transport told TASS News Agency.
Upper Lars is the key transport crossing point through which Armenia carries out most of its trade with Russia. Armenian companies suffer losses whenever traffic at the crossing gets hindered due to weather conditions.
“An additional 12 lanes will be introduced in July this year, and another 12 by yearend. Thus, the total number of lanes at the Upper Lars checkpoint will reach 39. More than 120 people are involved in the reconstruction works now,” the Russian Ministry of Transport told TASS.
According to the ministry, the highest daily clearance capacity of the checkpoint was up to 1500 vehicles, while the daily average in the beginning of 2022 was up to 900 vehicles.
The ongoing measures have increased the capacity to up to 2300 vehicles (including up to 1100 cargo vehicles).