The Armenian government and the French Development Agency will sign a € 75 million loan agreement to finance the construction of Vedi reservoir, Panorama.am reports.

According to Finance Minister Gagik Khachatryan, the project will help ease water scarcity in Ararat plain, as well as switch to automatic irrigation systems, which will, in turn, lead to energy savings.

“The loan envisages a 20-year maturity date, including a 6-year grace period,” Khachatryan said.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said the government has declared the reservoir construction a key priority sector, ordering the heads of the agencies in charge to manage the technical part of the work as soon as possible to start the construction in February-March, next year.