The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a US$ 39 million loan for the Electricity Supply Reliability (ESR) Project for Armenia.

This project is designed to enhance the reliability of the power supply in the country by improving the capacity of the power transmission network back-bone infrastructure by replacing a section of around 230 km of out-dated transmission lines.

“This project supports a key strategic objective of our Country Partnership Strategy: to support Armenia’s competitiveness,” says Asad Alam, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Countries.

“The investments will replace a section of around 230 km of transmission line from the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant to Vorotan Cascade of hydro power plants, which accounts for about 45 percent of the 220 kV transmission lines that need urgent rehabilitation,” says Jean-Michel Happi, World Bank Country Manager for Armenia. “The capacity of this section of the transmission line will increase from 250 MW to 310 MW, with a sharp reduction in current outages.”

Total financing of the Project is US$ 52 million, of which the government of Armenia will finance US$ 13 million. The IBRD loan carries a maturity of 25 years including a grace period of 10 years.