ArmInfo. Despite the fact that the level of water in the reservoirs of Armenia decreased by 9% (up to 570 million cubic meters), no farmer will feel its lack, the head of the State Committee for Water Management of Armenia Arsen Harutyunyan stated at the press conference. At the same time, he recalled that the country has adopted an extensive program for the construction of reservoirs, which will radically change the situation with providing communities with irrigation water.
According to ArmInfo, in Armenia, the construction of four new reservoirs - the Vedi, Caps, Yeghvard, and Mastara reservoirs is being implemented. A detailed project for the construction of the dam of the Vedi reservoir and auxiliary structures is already ready, and work on preparing the documents necessary for the start of construction has already been completed. It is planned to build a dam with a height of 85 m and a volume of 29 million cubic meters, as a result of which it will be possible to irrigate the territory with 3,2 thousand hectares. In general, construction work will last about 4 years.
As for the construction of the Kaps reservoir, which was suspended in 1994, the investment costs for construction at the first stage (a 55-meter dam with a water volume of 25 million cubic meters) are estimated at 60 million EUR. According to the results of the first stage, it is planned to provide irrigation with 12.3 thousand hectares, and the second stage (estimated at 70 million EUR) - 2.2 thousand. The preparation of the documents necessary for the commencement of construction will be completed in the second half of 2017. In general, construction work will last four years.
It is also proposed to develop a new version of the reconstruction of the Yeghvard water reservoir with a capacity of 90 million cubic meters, the main source of which will be the Hrazdan River. Reconstruction of the reservoir will ensure reliable irrigation of the territory of 12.2 thousand hectares, and mechanical irrigation will be replaced by gravity, which will save 28.6 million kW/h of electricity. The construction works of the reservoir will begin in 2018 and will last five years.
It is also planned to build a reservoir of Mastara with a capacity of 10.2 million cubic meters, the reservoir will increase the level of providing irrigated areas with 3,7 thousand hectares, mechanical irrigation will be replaced by gravity, which will result in saving about 2.1 million kW/h per year electricity. Recently, the Eurasian Bank for Reconstruction and Development has provided $ 26 million for the project.