The new government doubts the correctness of directly granting Renco  the right to build the second power unit of the Yerevan TPP

ArmInfo. The new government of Armenia has doubts  about earlier agreements reached with Renco around the construction  of the second power unit of the Yerevan Thermal Power Plant.  This  was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Armenia  Tigran Avinyan in a live broadcast of Azatutyun.TV.

He expressed opinion that when it comes to a large investment program  based on public-private partnership, where the government assumes  certain obligations, it is necessary to do this through the  announcement of tenders, and not directly, as did the former  government. In particular, the program for the construction of the  new power unit at the Yerevan TPP involves mandatory purchase of  electricity produced at TPPs for 30 years at a certain rate, which is  also formed on the basis of the volume of capital investments. The  state has no right in such matters to be based on direct agreements  and is obliged to hold an international tender in order to obtain a  better price. "Therefore, we have some doubts about this deal,"  Avinyan said.

Recently the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting  with the chief executive of the Italian company "Renko" Giovanni  Rubini, with whom the problems surrounding the implementation of this  investment project were discussed. Then Pashinyan, attaching  importance to the implementation of new projects, the prime minister  noted that the executive power's task is not to assume such  obligations that will negatively affect the country's energy security  and tariff policy. The Prime Minister of Armenia invited the  representatives of the Italian company to hold intensive  consultations with the officials of the government in the near future  and expressed hope that in their results it will be possible to find  mutually beneficial solutions for the implementation of the project.

The Italian company Renco intends to invest about $ 250 million in  the construction of the second power unit of the Yerevan Thermal  Power Plant with a combined combined-cycle cycle (ECGCC) with a  capacity of 250 mW. Completion of construction work is scheduled for  25 months. The program will create about 900 temporary jobs, and from  the time of operation - 200 permanent and highly paid. The best  effective technologies will be used in the construction, and the  efficiency will be 53%, while this indicator of the Hrazdan power  unit is equal to 44%, Yerevan Thermal Power Plant - 49%.

The new power unit at the Yerevan Thermal Power Plant is intended to  replace the capacity of the third power unit of the Hrazdan Thermal  Power Plant, as conceived by the Armenian energy authorities.

Today it was announced the launch of the modernization program of the  operating unit of the Yerevan TPP.  The modernization program will be  implemented at the own expense of the TPP within six months, its cost  will be 18.8 million euros, and the contractor works are the American  General Electric.