On May 30, 2016, Gagik Khachatryan, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Piotr Antoni Switalski, Ambassador, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Aram Ananyan, the General Director of High Voltage Electric Networks CJSC and Mr. Lars Oermann, Director of KfW Caucasus Office, signed a new funding agreement to improve the electricity supply network in Armenia.

The new allocation of EUR 10 million provided by theNeighborhood Investment Facility of the European Union is part of a large-scale investment scheme for the expansion of the electricity supply and infrastructure in Armenia. The project concerns the construction of a high voltage direct current back-to-back converter, 500/400/220 kV substation in Ayrum, the construction and connection of transmission lines, consulting services for technical assistance during the preparation and implementation of the project, as well as wider electricity sector development and capacity building measures.

The investments of the first phase of this project amount to approximately EUR105.2 million. The German KFW Development Bank has provided EUR85.2 million for the financing of the project, of which EUR 75 million is allocated from its own resources and EUR10.2 million is financed by the Federal Republic of Germany.The EUR 10 million co-financing is provided by the European Union Neighborhood Investment Facility through the European Investment Bank.