Friday, December 29 2023 14:09

ArmInfo. By the spring of 2024, the Vedi reservoir should be operational and begin to fill with water.  Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan stated at a press conference on December 29.

According to him, there was a slight delay in the commissioning of the reservoir due to the emergence of some minor problems, including those related to the gateways. In the near future, these locks will be delivered from Iran, after which it will be possible to begin filling the reservoir with water.

As for the Kaps reservoir, as Sanosyan noted, after lengthy discussions and procedures, the project has finally entered the practical phase. The construction work will be carried out by a Chinese company.  Sanosyan also touched upon the project for the construction of 15 small reservoirs, which are included in the government's five-year program. A feasibility study has shown that 3 of these reservoirs are not suitable for specific areas, and other areas are being explored to meet the Government's plan. The minister noted that tenders for the development of 6 small reservoir projects have already been held.  3 projects are already ready. As for the others, studies are ongoing.

ArmInfo previously reported that it is planned to build 15 small reservoirs in Armenia by 2026. Previously, tenders were announced for the design of six small reservoirs, of which five tenders were held.  Currently, the process of developing a feasibility study for these five reservoirs is underway. By the end of this year, out of these five reservoirs, the development of design documentation will be completed for 2-3; As for the others, work will continue next year.  At least 4 of the 15 reservoirs had problems with the decrease in water flows, so the issue of changing their construction site is being discussed.

Work also continues on the construction of large reservoirs. In particular, during the implementation of the Vedi reservoir construction project, more than 70 meters of the 85-meter dam were built.

On January 26, 2016, in order to finance the construction of a reservoir in Vedi, the French Development Agency allocated a loan of 75 million euros to the Republic of Armenia (co-financing from the Government of the Republic of Armenia will amount to 15 million euros), within the framework of which it is planned to build a reservoir with a volume of 29.4 cubic meters and a water surface of 120 hectares. The sources of water will be the rivers of the Ararat region - Vedi and Khosrov. Full implementation of the program will make it possible to alleviate the problem of water shortage in the Ararat Valley, as well as move from mechanical irrigation to a gravity supply system, which, in turn, will lead to energy savings.  The project was initially planned to be completed within four years, but at the end of May 2022, according to the RA government, the project was completed by 77 percent.

As for the restoration of the Kaps reservoir, KfW Bank announced its agreement to finance this project.  The Kaps reservoir, unfinished due to the 1988 earthquake, with a design capacity of 110 million cubic meters of water, is located in the Shirak region, 22 km north-west of the city of Gyumri, in the valley of the Akhuryan River. The program, with a total budget of 70 million euros, is financed by the German Development Bank -KfW. The loan agreement came into force on June 29, 2019, the deadline for using the funds was set until December 30, 2019, but was then extended until June 30, 2024.  At the first stage of the program, it is planned to complete the construction of a reservoir with a capacity of 25 million cubic meters of water. At the second stage, it is planned to increase the infrastructure to 60 million cubic meters. The project provides for the construction of auxiliary structures for the Cape Reservoir dam, equipping hydrological observation points of the Akhuryan River (from Lake Arpi to the Akhuryan Reservoir), construction of additional stations, and creation of a centralized database (SCADA system).