ArmInfo. Armenia will shortly announce an international tender to choose the general contractor of the 400KV Armenia-Georgia power transmission line construction project, the press office of the Armenian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has told ArmInfo.
The source says that Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG is currently preparing the relevant tender package. Before that the environmental and social impact of the project will be assessed. These operations will be completed by late 2016. Afterwards, the construction will be launched.
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.
To recall, on Dec 9, 2014, Armenia and the German KfW Bank signed a loan agreement on construction of an electric power transmission line with Georgia. KfW Bank will lend 85.2 million EUR to Armenia, including 75 million EUR from its own funds and 10.2 million EUR from the financial means provided by Government of Germany. The goal is to connect the Armenian and Georgian energy systems with the 500/400/220 kV high-voltage current converter station stationed in Ayrum located near the Georgian border. 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. It was previously reported that the first phase of the project is 105.2 million EUR. Extra 10 million EUR will be lent by the European Investment Bank and another 10 million EUR will be granted by the European Commission. The first phase will be completed in 2018, the second phase worth 100 million EUR will be over in 2021, and the third one worth 125 million EUR - in 2025. At the moment, three power transmission lines connect Armenia and Georgia, namely, Alaverdi-2 (220 kV), Lalvar (110 kV) and Ashotsk (110 kV).