Water level in reservoirs of Armenia decreased by 9%, all hope for implementation of new program

ArmInfo. Despite the fact that  the level of water in the reservoirs of Armenia decreased by 9% (up  to 570 million cubic meters), no farmer will feel its lack, the head  of the State Committee for Water Management of Armenia Arsen  Harutyunyan stated at the press conference. At the same time, he  recalled that the country has adopted an extensive program for the  construction of reservoirs, which will radically change the situation  with providing communities with irrigation water.

According to ArmInfo, in Armenia, the construction of four new  reservoirs - the Vedi, Caps, Yeghvard, and Mastara reservoirs is  being implemented. A detailed project for the construction of the dam  of the Vedi reservoir and auxiliary structures is already ready, and  work on preparing the documents necessary for the start of  construction has already been completed. It is planned to build a dam  with a height of 85 m and a volume of 29 million cubic meters, as a  result of which it will be possible to irrigate the territory with  3,2 thousand hectares. In general, construction work will last about  4 years.

As for the construction of the Kaps reservoir, which was suspended in  1994, the investment costs for construction at the first stage (a  55-meter dam with a water volume of 25 million cubic meters) are  estimated at 60 million EUR. According to the results of the first  stage, it is planned to provide irrigation with 12.3 thousand  hectares, and the second stage (estimated at 70 million EUR) - 2.2  thousand. The preparation of the documents necessary for the  commencement of construction will be completed in the second half of  2017. In general, construction work will last four years.

It is also proposed to develop a new version of the reconstruction of  the Yeghvard water reservoir with a capacity of 90 million cubic  meters, the main source of which will be the Hrazdan River.  Reconstruction of the reservoir will ensure reliable irrigation of  the territory of 12.2 thousand hectares, and mechanical irrigation  will be replaced by gravity, which will save 28.6 million kW/h of  electricity. The construction works of the reservoir will begin in  2018 and will last five years.

It is also planned to build a reservoir of Mastara with a capacity of  10.2 million cubic meters, the reservoir will increase the level of  providing irrigated areas with 3,7 thousand hectares, mechanical  irrigation will be replaced by gravity, which will result in saving  about 2.1 million kW/h per year electricity. Recently, the Eurasian  Bank for Reconstruction and Development has provided $ 26 million for  the project.