ArmInfo. The Kaps reservoir can be of regional importance from a perspective perspective. Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Vache Terteryan, who presented a draft letter of agreement with the German bank KfW on the postponement of the payment of interest rates on a loan of 50 million euros, said this at a meeting of the Commission on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Issues on October 23.
The Deputy Minister recalled that the agreement was signed in 2014 and entered into force in 2018. However, over the past period, of the total loan amount, only 2.9 million euros were disbursed. For this reason, it is proposed to postpone the start date of interest rate payments and part of the principal amount of borrowed funds. Basically, the delay is due to the long process of developing the environmental impact assessment. Two days ago, this assessment was received from the Ministry of Environment, consultants and contractors were selected, which, after the ratification of the document at the plenary session of the RA National Assembly, will immediately begin construction work.
The Kaps reservoir, as the Deputy Minister noted, has not only hydrological, but also ecological and socio- economic significance. In conditions when Turkey is actively building reservoirs on its territory, a problem with a shortage of water may appear. The construction of the Kaps reservoir, which began in Soviet times, will significantly solve a possible problem. Vache Terteryan also said that the state budget of the country provides for an amount of 10 million euros, which will be directed to the resettlement of local residents, in particular, residents of the village of Jradzor.
Let us remind you that the project cost is estimated at 60 million euros, it is planned to implement it in cooperation with the German bank KFW. The capacity of the Cape Reservoir will be 60 million cubic meters with a 51 meter long dam. The project envisages the construction of auxiliary structures of the reservoir dam, equipping the points of hydrological observation of the Akhuryan river (from the Arpi reservoir to the Akhuryan reservoir), the construction of additional stations, the creation of a centralized database (SCADA system). There will be an opportunity to replace mechanical irrigation of 2,280 hectares of land with gravity irrigation, which will save 1.3 million kWh of electricity per year. With the construction of the reservoir, it will become possible to expand the irrigated area by 7 thousand hectares in the Talin region. The project is scheduled to begin in 2021 and be completed in 3.5 years.
To remind, earlier KfW Bank provided Armenia with a loan of 50 million euros and a grant of 2 million euros for the implementation of the program for the construction of the Kaps reservoir. The funds were provided for a period of 15 years with a 5-year grace period at a fixed credit rate.