Iran-Armenia high-voltage line to be put into operation in few months  - ambassador

ArmInfo. Relations between Iran and Armenia are of particular importance for Tehran. Iranian Ambassador to Yerevan Mehdi Sobhani told the Iranian news agency CNN.

According to him, Armenia has a safe and stable 46-kilometer border  with Iran, and strengthening bilateral ties also contributes to the  development of the economies of the two states. The implementation of  joint projects in the field of energy and road construction helps  improve regional infrastructure. Last year, Iranian companies signed  with their Armenian partners the largest agreement since Armenia  gained independence on the construction of part of the road on the  southern section of the North-South highway corridor. The total cost  of this program is $212 million. Thanks to this program, travel time  will be significantly reduced, which is very important.  Iranian  companies are also implementing other, smaller programs in various  parts of Armenia.

Sobhani emphasized that the process of expanding the gas and  electricity exchange project is underway. A year ago, Iran and  Armenia extended the gas-for-electricity agreement until 2030.  The  ambassador noted that the parties managed to bring to the final stage  the construction of the third Iran-Armenia power line, which will be  put into operation within a few months. "Thus, we will be able to  double the import of electricity from Armenia," the diplomat  emphasized.

He also recalled that trade turnover between the two states increased  to $711 million. "Armenia is an important market for Iran, since this  country is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union," the ambassador  noted.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that Armenia is carrying out a barter deal  with Iran, according to which it receives 1 cubic meter of Iranian  gas in exchange for supplies of 3 kWh of electricity in the opposite  direction. With the construction of the third power line, these  volumes will increase significantly. However, 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, primarily associated with frequent  postponements of the commissioning of the facility. If the completion  date for the Iran- Armenia power transmission line project was  previously announced as the end of 2018, at the end of December 2021  the responsible structures already announced that the line would be  ready by the end of 2024. The main contractor for the construction of  the 400-kilovolt Iran-Armenia power transmission line is the Iranian  company Sunir. The total cost of the project is $107.9 million, of  which 77% was provided by the Iran Export Development Bank and 23% by  Sunir itself. As for the Armenia-Georgia power transmission line, the  parties have not yet started its construction.