UNDER CONSTRUCTION

   E  of the  highway  is  Avshar  (once Kyalbalavan).

   Then    the   dusty   city    of    Ararat (founded in 1920), its raison d'être the Ararat Cement Factory, whose director Aram Sargsian was made Prime Minister in November 1999. Ararat also boasts a gold ore processing plant, the massive spoil dump from which is now being profitably exploited for residual   gold     by     a     multinational corporation. There is allegedly  a  hotel

        

and a spa attached to a mineral spring nearby.