Energy Ministry: Construction of Iran-Armenia power transmission line being conducted in accordance with schedule

ArmInfo. The construction  of the Iran-Armenia power transmission line is being conducted in  accordance with the schedule, Arthur Baghdasaryan, Director General  of High Voltage Electric Networks CJSC, said at today's meeting of  the Investment Commission headed by Armenian Minister of Energy  Infrastructures and Natural Resources Ashot Manukyan.

He said that under the EUR 76 mln project, 672 land plots have been  acquired, equipment and constructions weighing a total of 1965 tons  have been brought to 60 communities, nearly 100 km of access roads  have been built. The project envisages construction of Noravan  electric power substation and about 33 mln EUR will be spent on it.  12 hectares of land has been acquired for the project. 

Baghdasaryan pointed out that the project of construction of the  Armenia-Georgia power transmission line and a converting station is  being estimated. The project will be completed in 2019. A tender has  been announced to choose the general contractor of the project.  

To note, Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG - the consultant of the  Armenia-Georgia power transmission line construction project - has  finished the work over preparation of the tender package to choose  the general contractor. It is planned to implement the project in  three phases, the sources of financing of the first two phases are  already known. It is planned to construct the 400 kV transmission  line and two substations in Ddmashen and Ayrum under the first two  phases of the project, which will allow connecting to Georgian  electricity system in non-synchronized regime.  Fichtner GmbH & Co.  KG has assessed the environmental and social impact of the project.  The project aims to link the power grids of Armenia and Georgia and  to promote mutually beneficial regional cooperation within the  framework of the Iran-Armenia- Georgia- Russia energy corridor. In  addition, the project will create prerequisites for synchronous  operation of the electric power networks of the CIS member states. 

According to FICHTNER, the cost of the project is preliminarily  estimated at 326.9 mln EUR. The connection from the Georgian side  will be through a 500 kV line from the Marneul substation, and the  connection from the Armenian side will be through the 400 kV line  from Hrazdan. The first two phases of the project are estimated at  188.2 mln EUR. In 2014-2015 three loan agreements were signed. The  German KfW Bank lent 168 mln EUR, and the European Investment Bank  lent 10 mln EUR. The European Commission is expected to grant 10 mln  EUR. The construction will be launched in early 2017 and will be  completed by late 2019. The construction of the Iran-Armenia power  transmission line will also be completed in 2019.