ArmInfo. At the November 1 meeting, the Armenian government approved for signing a new framework agreement with the Italian Renco company on the construction of a thermal power unit.
According to Acting First Deputy Minister of Justice Artur Hovhannisyan, under the agreement, it is planned to build a new thermal unit with a combined steam-gas cycle with a capacity of 250 MW on the territory adjacent to the Yerevan TPP. The construction of the block will last 26 months. 1200 people will be involved in the project implementation, another 250 people will have permanent high-paying jobs in the unit. In addition, in order to successfully operate the new equipment, 50-70 people will be retrained at Siemens company.
In turn, Acting Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Garegin Baghramyan noted that according to the previous agreement, Renco was supposed to sell electricity from the future generating facility at a price of 6.7 cents per 1 kW / h. (without VAT). However, as a result of negotiations, the price of electricity was reduced to 5.7 cents, which will lead to savings of $ 6.4 million. The Acting Minister brought as an example the experience of Georgia, where, with the assistance of the European Investment Bank, two thermal blocks with a capacity of 230 MW each are being built, the electricity from which will be more expensive than from the new unit in Armenia. A significant part of the cost of electricity generated by the future block in Armenia, is the gas price component, which is equal to 3.82 cents.
Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed that there is another 6-7 days before the final agreement is signed, and it is necessary to solve all the problems within this period. "After agreeing on all these issues and the approval of the Prime Minister, Garegin Baghramyan will sign a new framework agreement," Nikol Pashinyan stressed. He also noted that the construction of a new unit is an important program, since it will allow not only to leave the electricity tariff at the same level, but also to explore opportunities for its reduction. The program is also important in terms of attracting investment, the Acting Prime Minister continued, adding that the provision causing concern of the Central Bank was also removed from the document. "This project will have a positive impact on the country's energy sector, but it is important to strictly adhere to the timing of its implementation," Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that today's decision of the executive body is a signal to international investors, since recently the actions of the new authorities of Armenia have been misinterpreted by the international structures.
Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the program will be implemented by Siemens in cooperation with international financial institutions. The project envisages the construction of a unit with a combined steam- gas cycle. From the moment of operation of the unit, 250 permanent and highly paid specialists will work on it. During construction, the best efficient technologies will be used, and the efficiency will be 53%, while this indicator of the Hrazdan power unit is 44%, and the Yerevan TPP - 49%.