Armenia, Iran build joint hydro power plant

Armenia and Iran have started to build a joint hydroelectric power plant on their border as part of their efforts to boost economic cooperation. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan and Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou attended the launching ceremony. The construction of the plant located on the Arax River near the southern Armenian town of Meghri will take five years and will be financed by Iranian companies. The 323-billion-U.S.-dollar plant will supply electricity to Iran for the first 15 years before being handed over to Armenia. Armenian Energy Minister Movsisian said the project is undertaken in line with a bilateral agreement on the construction and utilization of the hydroelectric power plant signed on March 19, 2007 in Meghri, a city in south Armenia. The project will help boost both countries' economic growth and play an important role in ensuring Armenia's energy security, said the minister. Movsisyan added that the construction of railways connecting the two countries has been taken into consideration and the building of oil product pipelines will be realized soon. Grigor Melkonyan, counselor of Department for Neighboring Countries of Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that for Armenia, a country with no diplomatic relations with two of its four neighbors, it's very important to increase cooperation with Iran despite the West's increased sanctions against the Islamic republic.