ArmInfo. On April 27, during a press conference, the Chairman of the State Water Management Committee of Armenia Arsen Harutyunyan stated that in the next 2 years there is no reduction in tariffs for drinking water in Armenia
Changes in tariffs for drinking water, he said, will take place over the next 15 years (the term of the single operator for water supply of Armenia company Veolia Jur), which will be associated with a change in tariffs for electricity, fuel and wages.
In particular, Harutyunyan said that during the period of activity in Armenia, Veolia Jur should pay the state, according to the signed agreement, a total of about 89 billion AMD (annually over 6 billion AMD), at the same time, the volume of work for the company for 37.5 billion AMD. At the same time, according to him, the state for its part will make investments of $ 200 million.
During the press conference, the chairman of State Water Management Committee also raised the issue about 560 communities of Armenia, which remained outside the service area of the water supply operator. "This is one of the government's priorities for 2017," he stressed. Answering the question of ArmInfo, Harutyunyan noted that this year it will not be possible to provide drinking water to the communities, but by the end of 2017 a tender for the water supply operator will be announced. "We have already explored these communities, at this stage discussions are held concerning the tender. Either we will announce a competition for one operator, or we will divide communities into 15 clusters, according to which 15 winners will be chosen," he said.
Concerning the violations during the four-month activity of Veolia Jur, Harutyunyan said that on May 12 the winner of the previously announced tender for the position of technical auditor together with the State Committee will carry out a study of the implemented works of Veolia Jur will be named.
To note, from January 1, 2017 in Armenia, a single water tariff was set at 180 AMD per one cubic meter, including VAT. Thus, since January 1, the tariff for water in the Armenian capital has increased, and in the regions of the republic it has decreased. Now the lowest tariff is in Yerevan, it makes 170,256 AMD per 1 cubic meter of water, and in the regions - up to 200 drams (the highest one in Armavir - 204 AMD). ?vg-
