In the near future in Meghri the construction of a new hydroelectric power station will begin near the Aras river, close to the border with Iran. This was reported by the Armenian head of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission, the Minister for Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia, Armen Movsisyan, who added that construction of the dam will begin in the next10-15 days.
"As the Iranian side proposed, in the next 10-15 days we will organize the ceremony of starting the construction of the Meghri HPP," Movsisyan said after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the results of the 11th session of the intergovernmental commission.
The Iranian side expressed its willingness to increase funding for the project in order to address the rest of the issues for the early start of construction. "There is already a decision made by the Iranian government about raising the threshold for funding, and only small, private issues remain. We hope that in the near future we will see the start of construction," Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namdzhu said at the session of the commission.
The agreement on the construction of a hydro-electric power plant on the Aras river was signed between Armenia and Iran in 2007. It is assumed that two powerful hydro-electric power plants in the South Caucasus would be built in Meghri (Armenia) and in Karachilare (Iran).
Each of the two plants will produce 793 million kW/h per year. Preliminary construction costs will amount to about $323 million; an Iranian investment company will provide the funding for this.
