The Megri dam worth $323 million with an output of 130 MW has been founded on River Araks today. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan and Iranian Minister for Energy Majid Namju attended the ceremony, ARKA reports.
The program for realization of the project was signed by the governments of Armenia and Iran on March 19, 2007, for exploitation of power plants in Megri (Armenia) and Karachilar (Iran).
The two dams will be exploited simultaneously to reduce expenses by 10-15%.
Each power plant will produce about 800 million KW/h annually. A tunnel 18 km long with a diameter of 8.5 m will be built.
Armenia signed a BOOT investment program with Iran’s Tavan AbAraz on October 15, 2010.
Namju said that Megri will be built in 5 years.
Sagab-Gods (Iran) will do feasibility studies, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by the Armenian Ministry for Energy and Natural Resources and the Iranian Energy Ministry. The studies will be coordinated by the Armenian-Iranian technical committee.
230-KW power lines will transport electricity to Iran. Armenia will take control over the dam in 15 years. The power plant will have a lifespan of 10 years when it will be taken under Armenian management and its engineering constructions will have a lifespan of at least 30 years.
About 2,000 specialists and workers will be involved in construction.
