Wednesday, November 18 2020 11:28

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.