Armenia to have Kap reservoir and new village - premier 

ArmInfo. The Kap Reservoir will be built, and the village will be resettled. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this to journalists during a  briefing, commenting on the suspension of the Kap Reservoir  construction project.

He explained that the reason for this outcome is the contractor's  failure to fulfill its contractual obligations.  "We have terminated  the contract with them and will seek a new partner," the head of  government emphasized.

Pashinyan noted that the tender procedures were carried out in  accordance with the processes approved by international partners.  "Large capital programs are like that; in all countries of the world,  there are cases where they are not implemented on time. Yes, my  promise was not fulfilled because the contractor did not fulfill his.  But mine will be kept, one way or another, while his is no longer the  case," he said. The Prime Minister also emphasized the need to learn  to solve emerging problems and prevent them, rather than relying  solely on statements about being a nation that has been building for  centuries.

It should be noted that yesterday it was announced that construction  work on the Kap Reservoir in the Shirak region has been suspended.

The day before, a protest by construction workers took place at the  reservoir construction site. The protest was prompted by the  unilateral termination of the contract with the contractor, the  Chinese company, the Armenian Territorial Development Fund, the  commissioner of the work. According to one of the construction  workers, they received information about problems with the project's  financing. As a result, dozens of people-drivers, construction  workers, and support staff (approximately 100 people, according to  them)-were left without explanation. The relocation of residents of  the village of Jradzor (the new village, located next to the  reservoir, is planned to accommodate approximately 350 residents) has  also been suspended.

The contract termination process was initiated at the initiative of  the ministry. Contract deadlines were violated, and planned work was  not completed according to schedule. Currently, 16% of the work has  been completed.

Construction of the Kap Reservoir began in 1975 and was suspended due  to the 1988 earthquake. The reservoir, with a design capacity of 110  million cubic meters of water, is located in the Shirak region, 22 km  northwest of Gyumri, in the Akhuryan River valley. On May 18, 2023,  the reservoir's foundation was officially laid. The first phase of  work was scheduled for completion in April 2026. The first phase of  the program plans to complete the reservoir with a capacity of 25  million cubic meters of water. The second phase plans to increase the  infrastructure to 60 million cubic meters. The project includes the  construction of auxiliary structures for the Kap Reservoir dam,  equipping hydrological monitoring stations on the Akhuryan River  (from Lake Arpi to the Akhuryan Reservoir), constructing additional  stations, and creating a centralized database (SCADA system).  Completion of the dam and auxiliary structures will primarily ensure  the safety of downstream settlements and improve water supply to  12,325 hectares of land in the Shirak region and on the right bank of  the Akhuryan Reservoir. It will also enable the replacement of  mechanical irrigation on 2,280 hectares of land with gravity  irrigation, saving 1.3 million kWh of electricity per year. Regular  irrigation will increase agricultural production, and the  installation of a reliable water metering system will improve water  management and monitoring.

The project is financed by a KfW loan and co-financing from the  Government of the Republic of Armenia.  The total project budget is  ?95.2 million, including ?68.5 million in borrowed funds. The loan  agreement entered into force on June 29, 2019, and the deadline for  using the funds was set for December 30, 2019, but this deadline was  later extended until June 30, 2024. At the end of December 2024, the  Cabinet of Ministers extended the period of access to these loan  funds until December 30, 2026.