World Bank grants $ 30 million to Armenia to revive irrigation systems
ARMAVIR, July 29. /ARKA/. The Board of Directors of the World Bank has approved a program of recovering the irrigation systems in Armenia, worth 30 million U.S. dollars.
To present the World Bank program a delegation, headed by the Director of the WB Yerevan Office Aristomene Varoudakis, visited the Armavir region on Wednesday, where irrigation works were going to be carried out.
According to Varoudakis, the program will be financed by the loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which in its turn grants a period of 27 years with a five-year grace period.
"The Bank carries out these activities to promote the program of stimulating the economy by the Government of Armenia, as well as to mitigate the negative impact of the global economic crisis", the director of the Yerevan office of the WB said.
According to him, the program has two objectives - to improve the efficiency of irrigation systems in Armavir and Talin and promote fastest creation of jobs in rural areas.
Varoudakis noted that this will facilitate the rehabilitation of irrigation water canals to reduce water losses and strengthen the institutions that govern the irrigation infrastructure.
The program provides funding to restore 84 kilometers of major water canals, which can reduce water losses to 70 thousand cubic meters and restore the irrigation of 7300 hectares of land.
According to the WB, about 39 thousand consumers of the 73 communities of Armenia can use the results of the restoration program. It will create 9 thousand jobs, making it easier to influence the economic crisis on the employment of farmers and will encourage the return of migrant workers to those areas where construction will be carried out.
"Creating jobs and stimulating revenues, particularly in rural areas, where there is mostly poor population, is particularly important in the current crisis," the World Bank regional director of the South Caucasus, Asad Alam said.
According to him, this program is important because it will also contribute to the long-term development of agriculture and improvement of productivity.
The World Bank has provided loans for a total amount of $ 1,277 billion since its cooperation with Armenia in 1992. -0-
