ArmInfo.The timing of the tranche payments under the KfW bank loan will be extended until 2025. At a plenary session on November 18, the Armenian parliament ratified the letter of agreement with the Bank.
According to the Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Hakob Vardanyan, the document was signed on July 1, 2020. In particular, the matter concerns the construction program of the Caucasian power transmission network, which envisages the construction of the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line and Ddmashen and Ayrum substations. Earlier, the Bank provided Armenia in the form of loans and grants 182 million euros for the implementation of the project. As early as November 30, Armenia should begin paying tranches on the part of the loan of 75 million euros, and if the terms of payments are not extended, the republic will have to pay fines and pennies, which in total exceeds 10 million euros.
The Deputy Minister stressed that in 2017, the government of the country, based on the feasibility of managing the public debt, froze the project based on the decision of the technical commission. However, in 2019, the country's government decided to implement the program in full, including with the construction of an electrical substation in Ddmashen. Hakob Vardanyan emphasized the importance of implementing the program in terms of ensuring the country's energy security and Armenia's obligations to the EAEU to form a single electricity market by 2025. At present, the construction of the Iran-Armenia power transmission line continues, and without the presence of the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line, the project will be ineffective. The cost of the first stage of the program, according to the Deputy Minister, is 188.2 million euros.
It should be noted that in 2019, at a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, the work planned within the framework of the program for the construction of the 400/220/10 kV Ddmashen substation, 400/500 kV overhead power line and Ayrum converter station, technical solutions were presented, as well as the possibility of synchronizing the work of regional power systems. Issues related to the construction of Armenia-Iran and Armenia-Georgia power lines and the development of regional energy cooperation were also touched upon. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the program in the context of ensuring an effective energy connection with Georgia, the development of the energy infrastructure of Armenia, regional integration of energy systems, and nstructed the responsible persons to continue the implementation of the works indicated in the program.
Earlier, the project for the construction of the North-South energy corridor, designed to unite the electric power systems of Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Russia, faced a number of problems. The program for the construction of 400 kilovolt power lines Iran-Armenia and Armenia-Georgia was to be implemented by the end of 2019. And if the construction of the Iran-Armenia power transmission line has been completed by only 25%, then the parties have not yet begun to build a similar power transmission line with Georgia. On March 15, 2017, the technical commission for improving the reliability and efficiency of the electric power system of Armenia approved the terms of reference for the construction of the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line. The terms of reference were developed by the German bank KfW, which finances the program, and FICHTNER, which won the tender to identify the project consultant. According to the terms of reference, the project is divided into several stages. At the first stage, it was planned to modernize an electrical substation with a voltage of 220 kV, build a new substation with a voltage of 400 kV, and build a new overhead power line to the Georgian border. At the second stage, it was planned to build an electrical substation with a voltage of 500 kV.
As ArmInfo previously reported, the funding sources for the first two stages are already known. The preliminary cost of the construction program for the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line, according to the FICHTNER company, is 326.9 million euros, 10% of which should be part of Georgia's contribution. The first two stages of the program were estimated at 188.2 million euros. To this end, three loan agreements were signed in 2014-2015. In particular, the German bank KfW allocated 168 million euros in the form of a loan, and another 10 million euros was provided by the European Investment Bank. An additional ? 10 million was expected in a grant from the European Commission. As for the Iran-Armenia high-voltage transmission line, the financing of this project is carried out by the Iranian side, the total cost of the program is $ 107 million. However, taking into account the sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran, there is concern about a reduction in the volume of this investment program.
