Iran and Armenia intend to bring the program for the construction of the Meghri hydropower plant

ArmInfo. In the near future, Iran will visit Armenia, which together with its Armenian partners intends to bring the program of construction of the near-boundary hydroelectric power station on the Araks River to the final view. The Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Seyed Kazem Sadjadi stated this on February 12 in a conversation with journalists.

According to him, the Iranian side is innocent of the constant postponement of the construction of the hydroelectric station. "This energy facility should have been used as far back as late January of this year, not by us, nor by the government of Armenia," the ambassador said, shifting all responsibility to the companies that were supposed to implement the project. The diplomat added that the governments of the two countries have always worked well in this direction.

The Meghri hydropower plant was previously considered the most promising joint Armenian-Iranian project. Although the parties have come to the final stage of the project and announced the start of construction in November 2012, the work has not been started yet because of the limitations of Tehran because of the sanctions. If the project is completed, the station will become the largest in the Trans Caucasus. According to the project, the construction of a $ 323 million facility will be financed by the Iranian investment company. Armenia will pay for its part of the project with electricity produced at the hydroelectric station itself, and after 15 years the hydroelectric power station will be transferred to the Armenian side.  While the Armenian-Iranian economic relations cannot move from the deadlock, after the lifting of sanctions, economic ties between Tehran and Baku sharply intensified.  The Iranian parliament approved a bill on the joint construction of two hydroelectric power stations with Azerbaijan. The bill allows construction of power plants near the Araks River in the border area, in the Iranian city of Marazad and the Azerbaijani city of Ordubad. The document provides for cooperation in the construction of power stations at the dams of Khoda Afarin and Gyz Galasy, on the Araks River, as well as the construction of the Ordubad Power Station on the Azerbaijani side and the power plant in Marazada on the Iranian side.