YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenia and Russia failed to agree on the terms of new credit necessary to Finance modernization of NPP in the South Caucasus Republic, said on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Metsamorskaya nuclear power station, which is located 25 kilometers from Yerevan and belongs to the state, provides about 40% electricity of the country.
The modernization began in 2015, when the leadership of the NPP and the Russian company Rosatom signed an agreement on the provision of credit totaling $300 million, of which $30 million was a grant.
In five years, Armenia has used about $200 million and asked the Russian Federation to provide the remainder of the loan amount, but Rosatom has put forward new conditions that Yerevan did not agree.
“We will get the funds from their own sources, which, of course, will be provided on the best conditions,” said Pashinyan at the session of the government.
According to him, the government intends to issue bonds in the amount of 63 billion drams ($130 million) in the domestic market.
The government document, which is available to Reuters, stated that Rosatom offered to use 80% of the amount of the new loan for the purchase of equipment and services exclusively in Russia.
The Russian company also wanted to obtain a Commission for the part not used in this year’s loan and had offered Armenia to pay $19.5 million for the management of the Rosatom nuclear power plant.
(Nvard Hovhannisyan. Text Margarita Antidze; editor Anton Kolodyazhny)