Iran-Armenian Gas Pipeline To Be Opened Late In March

Armeniadiaspora

Yerevan, March 12. /Arka/. The Iran-Armenia gas main is to be opened late in March, RA Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanyan told ARKA.

"The official ceremony is scheduled for the end of March," Gharibjanyan said.
The gas main was to be commissioned last December, but the process was later postponed until this spring.

The construction project is estimated at $120mln. The construction of the first 40km-long section, Meghri-Kajaran, got under way on November 30, 2004. The section section, Kajaran-Sisian-Jermuk-Ararat, is being constructed by the Iranian "Sanir" company.
At the initial stage Armenia will receive 300-400mln cubic meters of gas from Iran annually, with the volume to be increased to 2.3bln cubic meters. Under an Armenian-Iranian agreement, Armenia is to receive a total of 36bln cubic meters of natural gas during 20 years. The agreement may be prolonged, with the gas supply volume to be increased to 47bln cubic meters.

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