Completion deadlines for the third Iran-Armenia high-voltage power transmission line, whose construction began 16 years ago, have again been extended. The announcement was made by Hovhannes Abrahamyan, head of the Energy Department at Armenia’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Sputnik Armenia reported.

He said construction work on the 400-kV third Iran-Armenia transmission line had slowed to some extent because of regional tensions.

“Work is currently underway. Taking into account recent developments in Iran and the Middle East in general, our Iranian partners had certain difficulties. Now the situation seems to be stabilizing, and the project is progressing. Of course, this will have some impact on the timeline, but we plan to complete the work in the near future, considering that activities have already resumed,” he said.

Commenting on the current stage of construction, the ministry representative explained that work is now focused on installing pylons and laying transmission lines. According to him, significant progress has also been made in equipping substations. Abrahamyan assured that work, which had slowed due to regional tensions, has re-entered an active phase.

“The work continued at a slower pace, but now it is moving forward more intensively. Various operations related to pylons and cable installation are still unfinished, but transformer installation will be completed in the near future. One transformer is already in Armenia, while the second will be imported soon,” Abrahamyan added.

Asked whether the planned work could be completed by the end of the year, Hovhannes Abrahamyan gave a cautious assessment, stressing that under conditions of regional instability, he preferred not to set specific deadlines.

“If the developments in the Middle East had not occurred, we could have said the work would be completed by the end of the year. But at this stage, it would be wrong to fix exact deadlines,” he emphasized.

Nevertheless, the ministry representative assured that construction of the strategically important facility remains on the agenda, and that work with the Iranian side is aimed at completing the project as quickly as possible.

At present, gas-for-electricity swap supplies between Armenia and Iran are carried out through the existing Agarak–Meghri (220 kV) and Noraduz–Agarak (220 kV) transmission lines. Iran supplies gas to Armenia through the existing Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, while electricity generated from that gas — mainly at the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant — is returned to Iran through the operating transmission lines.

The 400-kV transmission line under construction, which has long been under discussion, is intended to increase electricity exchange volumes, synchronize energy systems and expand transit capacities within the framework of the North-South energy corridor.