Government inks deal to sell Vorotan Cascade HPPJune 8, 2015 - 17:37 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A revised and amended agreement on the sale and purchase of the property of Vorotan Cascade of Hydroelectric Power Plants was signed in Yerevan on Monday, June 8, ARKA reports citing the press office of the Armenian government. The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, between the Republic of Armenia, Vorotan Cascade of Hydroelectric Power Plants on one side and Contour Global Hydro Cascade, Contour Global Terra Holdings и CG Solutions Global Holding Company on the other. The signatories were Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Yervand Zakharyan, director general of Vorotan Cascade of Hydroelectric Power Plants Sasun Khachatryan, authorized representative of Contour Global Hydro Cascade and Contour Global Terra Holdings and CEO of CG Solutions Global Holding Company Joseph Brandt. On January 29, 2014, Armenia’s government signed the deal with Contour Global, a U.S.-based company, under which Contour Global is to purchase and modernize the Vorotan Hydro Cascade, a series of three hydroelectric power plants with a total production capacity of 405 MW on the Vorotan River in southern Armenia, for a purchase price of $180 million. However, the deal was not finalized as some technical and pricing issues remained to be reconciled. The total cost of the final deal is over AMD 85.8 billon to be paid in two equal halves, after completion of the deal formalities and within a year respectively. Prime Minister Abrahamyan met with Joseph Brandt before the signing procedure, welcoming the signing as an important step toward strengthening of bilateral economic relations. Brandt, in turn, said they are interested in making large-scale investments to modernize and commission the cascade in full. The sides thanked each other and confirmed their readiness to continue their productive and transparent partnership. This deal represents the largest transaction by Contour Global in the European region and the largest single U.S. private investment in Armenia. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |