Yerevan. (Interfax) – The Russian-Armenian interparliamentary commission on economic cooperation is planning to discuss the involvement of Russia’s Gazprom in the construction of the gas pipeline connecting Iran and Armenia in mid-October, a source in the Armenian government told Interfax.
Gazprom intends to offer its cooperation on the construction of the 41 km long Armenian section of the pipeline connecting the town of Megri (located on the Iranian border) to the town of Kadzharan (320 km southeast of Yerevan) and also on the reconstruction of the pipeline connecting Kadzharan and Yerevan (which has a pipe diameter of 500 to 700 mm).
The cost of building the Armenian section of the pipeline exceeds the $30 million loan provided for this purpose by the Export Development Bank of Iran, which increases Gazprom’s chances of participating in the project.
In May 2004, Armenia and Iran signed an agreement on the construction of a gas consortium to supply Iranian gas to Armenia. Under that agreement, Iran took on the obligation to supply 36 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Armenia over a period of 20 years, with the possibility of extending the contract by five years and the total gas supplies to 47 billion cubic meters.
The construction of the Iranian section of the pipeline, which is 100 km long, began in mid-July, and the construction of the Armenian section is due to begin before the end of October.
The total cost of building the Iran-Armenia pipeline and renovating the pipeline currently connecting Kadzharan and Yerevan is estimated at $210-220 million. The supply of Iranian gas will likely begin no later than January 2007.
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