ArmInfo. Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Stephane Sejourne, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, visited the Vedi reservoir, which is being built with the loan funds of the French Development Agency and the co-financing of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
The Ministers reviewed the progress of the construction of the reservoir. The strategic importance of the project in the context of strengthening Armenia's resilience was emphasized.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan noted: "The partnership between Armenia and France is actively developing in all directions. Here we are witnessing one of its very specific, tangible results."
During the visit, the significant positive impact of the project on economic development in the community, engagement of additional water resources and increasing the efficiency of water management, improvement of water supply to irrigated lands, as well as on the environment and tourism were touched upon.
On January 26, 2016, the French Development Agency allocated a loan of 75 million euros to the Republic of Armenia to finance the construction of the Vedi reservoir (co-financing by the RA government will be 15 million euros), within the framework of which it is planned to build a reservoir with a volume of 29.4 cubic meters and a water surface of 120 hectares. The sources of water will be the rivers of the Ararat region - Vedi and Khosrov. It was noted that the full implementation of the program will make it possible to alleviate the water shortage in the Ararat Valley, as well as switch from mechanical irrigation to a gravity supply system, which, in turn, will lead to energy savings. As a result of the program, water intake from Lake Sevan will be reduced by 19 million cubic meters, and the area of irrigated land will increase by about 300 hectares. After the reservoir is used, 11 pump stations will be shut down, and another 3 - partially, the annual savings will amount to about 1 billion drams or 19 million kWh of electricity. Losses of intra-grid facilities will be reduced by 20-25%. The program was originally planned to be completed within four years.
The construction of the reservoir is of great strategic importance for Armenia. Turkey has previously announced its plans to build large reservoirs on the Araks, which carries risks for the Armenian side in the form of a shortage of irrigation water. Armenia cannot completely mitigate such risks, but the reservoir in Vedi will help mitigate the consequences of Turkish water expansion. As of the end of May 2021, the program was 71% completed: a 36-kilometer pipeline was built, starting from the irrigation canal of the Vedi reservoir, through which water will reach irrigated lands of 3,220 hectares. As reported by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, projects have been developed for the reconstruction of the on-farm irrigation network for 4,000 hectares. Water intake units have been built on the Vedi and Khosrov rivers, and a 10.5 km long pipeline has been installed. The project was supposed to be completed in 2022, but the deadlines have been postponed several times.
