Tuesday, October 31 2023 18:16

ArmInfo.There is every reason to assume that work on the construction of the Armenia-Georgia high-voltage power transmission line will begin next year. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan stated on October 31 at the RA NA  Standing Committees discussions on the draft state budget for 2024.

He noted that at the beginning of next year the tender processes will  be completed and an agreement on the construction of power lines will  be concluded with the winner of the competition. The minister  expressed hope that work on at least one section of the power line  will begin next year. Sanosyan mentioned that there are two companies  that should submit price offers, after studying which one of them  will be recognized as the winner.

The project for the construction of the North-South energy corridor,  designed to unite the electric power systems of Iran, Armenia,  Georgia and Russia, has encountered a number of problems. Initially,  the construction projects of 400/500 - kilovolt power lines  Iran-Armenia and Armenia-Georgia were planned to be completed by the  end of 2019. Meanwhile, as of today, work on the Iran-Armenia power  line has been completed by 20-25%, and the construction of the  Armenia-Georgia power line has not yet begun. 

According to the project, it is planned to build a 400 kV  Iran-Armenia and 500 kV Armenia-Georgia power line. For these  purposes, it is planned to build 2 Ayrum and Ddmashen electrical  substations on the Georgian border. According to the FICHTNER Company  the preliminary cost of the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line  construction program is 326.9 million euros, 10% of which should be  part of the Georgian contribution. For these purposes, three loan  agreements were signed in 2014-2015. In particular, the German KfW  bank allocated 168 million euros in the form of a loan, and another  10 million euros will be provided by the European Investment Bank. It  is expected to receive another 10 million euros in grant from the  European Commission. As for the Iran-Armenia high-voltage power line,  this project is financed by the Iranian side, the total cost of the  program is $107 million. However, taking into account the new  sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran, there is concern  about a reduction in the volume of this investment program.