Cooperation with German Fichtner company discussed 

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the Executive Director of the German Fichtner  company operating in the energy sector, Martin Stickel, and the company's representatives. Viktor Richter, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia, also participated in the  meeting.

The Prime Minister welcomed the visit of the delegation of the German  company to Armenia as a result of the meeting held in Munich in  February of this year and emphasized the development of the renewable  energy sector in our country.

Issues related to further cooperation between the Armenian government  and Fichtner company were discussed.

It was agreed to continue discussions with the Ministry of  Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, as well as the  Ministry of Economy, for coordinating future activities.

Earlier the German company prepared a package of tender proposals for  the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line construction project.  However, the tenders held did not reveal winners, since there were no  competitive bids. Two companies - Siemens and ABB, participating in  two lots in the prequalification tender, did not submit financial  proposals for the construction of either the Ddmashen substation  itself or the DC insert.

The participation of European companies in the construction of power  lines was a requirement of the German bank KfW, which allocated  financial resources for this purpose. Against the background of the  Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the emergence of electricity  shortages, European countries began to pay more attention to the  construction of renewable generation facilities, mainly wind power  plants, in which European companies participating in the tender were  also involved, declaring their workload until 2028.  The Armenian  side intends to involve Chinese companies and the American concern  General Electric in the construction, negotiations with which are not  yet ongoing, since it is necessary to make changes to the project,  and instead of the substation in Ddmashen, build a similar substation  at the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant.

Negotiations are currently underway on this issue with KfW, the  results of which will become known within the next month. The  preliminary cost of the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line  construction program, according to Fichtner, 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 bank KfW 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.