WORLD BANK GRANTS $ 30 MILLION TO ARMENIA TO REVIVE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

ARKA
July 29, 2009

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.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress