Minister: Armenia is determined to implement regional energy programs

ArmInfo. Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Ashot Manukyan received the Ambassador of Georgia to Armenia Giorgi Saganelidze on November 10.

As the press service of the ministry reports, during the meeting the issue of regional cooperation in the field of energy was discussed, in particular, the construction of the high-voltage power transmission line Armenia-Georgia. Ashot Manukyan informed the Ambassador that Armenia is determined to implement regional energy programs. "We intend to complete the construction in time," the head of the Energy Ministry said.

At the request of the Georgian diplomat, the Armenian Minister also presented the process of building the Iran-Armenia power line. Ashot Manukyan informed Giorgi Saganelidze that the work in this direction is proceeding in accordance with the established schedule.

The four-sided memorandum between Armenia, Georgia, Iran and Russia providing for increasing the level of management of electricity flows, security and reliability of power systems was signed on December 23, 2015 in Yerevan. According to the RA Ministry of Energy, the fact that the energy systems of the four countries operate in parallel synchronous mode contributes to the creation of an enabling environment for cooperation. In particular, it is envisaged to commission the fourth power transmission line Armenia- Georgia with the capacity of 400-500 kW by the end of 2019. As a result, it will be possible to work in parallel with the Georgian energy system, and the capacity of electricity flows at the first stage will be 350 MW, and by 2021 it will be brought up to 700 MW. In addition, until the end of 2019, the third high- voltage power line Iran-Armenia will be put into operation, which will make it possible to increase the capacity of the overflows to 1050 MW. The purpose of these events is the implementation of the initiative to create an electricity corridor North-South, which will provide an opportunity to work with the energy systems of the EAEC and the EU. The total cost of the Iran-Armenia power transmission line construction project is $ 107 million. The funds are provided by the Iranian side, the project is being implemented by the Iranian company Sanir.