Agence France Presse — English
March 29, 2005 Tuesday 9:57 PM GMT

Japan loans Armenia 150 million dollars to build gas turbine

YEREVAN March 30

Japan late Tuesday granted Armenia a 150.2 million dollar (116.2
million euro) credit for the construction of a gas turbine in a power
plant near the capital Yerevan, Armenian and Japanese officials said.

The 40-year loan was granted by Japan’s International Cooperation
Bank.

It includes a 10-year preferential period during which the interest
rate will not exceed 0.75 percent.

“Our power stations are physically aging, which makes the
construction of a new gas turbine highly significant,” Armenian
Energy Minister Armen Movsisian, who signed the deal with cooperation
bank official Kuniaki Ito, told reporters.

The power plant, located south of Yerevan, is to be completed in late
2008.

The impoverished former Soviet republic of Armenia has suffered from
severe energy shortages since the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991.