The Eurasian Stabilisation and Development Fund and the Government of Armenia negotiate an investment credit for Armenia
An agreement for the Modernisation of Irrigation Systems project is scheduled to be signed in September 2015
Yerevan, 16 July 2015. The delegation of Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), as the Resources Manager of the Eurasian Stabilisation and Development Fund (ESDF), headed by Artak Azizyan, Head of ESDF Programmes, negotiated with the Government of Armenia the provision of investment by the ESDF for the Modernisation of Irrigation Systems project. The Armenian side was headed by Armen Gevorgyan, Deputy Finance Minister.
The sides agreed on a draft loan agreement, which will soon be presented to the ESDF Council for review. The agreement is preliminarily scheduled to be signed in September 2015.
The five-year Modernisation of Irrigation Systems project, with a total finance of US $50 million (US $40 million provided by the ESDF as a soft loan, and US $10 million co-financed by Armenia) is expected to start in late 2015 — early 2016. It is part of the long-term national programme to rehabilitate and reconstruct the irrigation and drainage network in Armenia. The project aims to build and restore eight gravity systems (70.4 km), 8.1 km of main canals, 54.1 km of inter-farm canals, and 277.8 km of on-farm canals throughout Armenia.
It also plans to improve water users’ responsibility and management of water user associations.
“This project is very important to us. In fact, we expect assistance to a member of the Bank and the ESDF from other members in solving its pressing needs,” Artak Aziziyan, Head of ESDF Programmes, emphasised. “We expect that the project will help to significantly expand irrigated areas and to ensure net savings of electric power, operational and maintenance costs. In addition, it will create temporary jobs during the construction phase and additional permanent jobs as a result of the increased effectiveness and stability of irrigation water supply and the expansion of irrigated land.”
Additional Information
Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth, and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.
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The Eurasian Stabilisation and Development Fund (ESDF) amounting to US$8.513 billion was formed as the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund on 9 June 2009 by the governments of six countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The objectives of the ESDF are to assist its member countries in overcoming the consequences of the global financial crisis, ensure their economic and financial stability, and foster integration in the region. The Fund’s member countries signed the Fund Management Agreement with Eurasian Development Bank giving it the role of the Fund’s Resources Manager.
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