Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

[Haykakan]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

YEREVAN. – A new figure skating school, which will enable Armenian figure skaters to train in the homeland, will open next year in capital city Yerevan.

President Serzh Sargsyan, Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Gabriel Ghazaryan, and Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan on Thursday were on hand at the groundbreaking ceremony of the school.

Three-time Olympic figure skating champion, multiple world and European champion, and Russian State Duma (Parliament) member Irina Rodnina—whom the school will be named after—also attended the event. The Olympic champion promised that once the school is built, she will help in the development of figure skating in Armenia (PHOTOS).

Rodnina added that it was her dream to have such a school built, and that this school will make it possible to raise Armenian champions.

“I hope that in addition to figure skating, they will learn hockey here, too,” Irina Rodnina specifically told reporters.

The school construction will be funded by of Monarch Group of Companies Chief Executive Officer and Armenian businessman Sergey Hambardzumyan, who likewise was present at the ceremony.

The total construction value of the figure skating school is close to $5 million, and it will have a 500-seat ice skating rink.

In Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Gabriel Ghazaryan’s words, the opening of this ice rink will contribute to the development of professional sports in Armenia.

“This will be a large complex that will meet international standards,” the minister added.

[Federate]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

Aren't Armenians tired of churches?

[Eddo211]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

Aren't Armenians tired of churches?

Amen to that

[Mher]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

Armenia Fund: Achieving True Victory in War

Friday, September 26th, 2014 | Posted by Contributor

In Chapar, a northern village in Artsakh, Armenia Fund has constructed a new school with modern amenities to serve the local population. During the time Armenia Fund has realized many projects in and around the area, 15 families have moved back and resettled in the village.

Fourteen year old boys usually have less serious things on their mind.

The ceasefire negotiations were underway and an independent Artsakh was in sight. On the verge of a monumental defeat, Azerbaijan, suffering from embarrassingly disproportionate military losses, chose to continue its hostilities. One of the targets for Azerbaijan’s special forces was the civilian population of Chapar village in northern Artsakh’s Martakert region. As recorded by Human Rights Watch, six Armenian civilians, including one 14-year old boy, were killed.

One of Artsakh’s oldest communities, picturesque Chapar is in northern Artsakh, close to the militarized border and the Azerbaijani-occupied Armenian region of Shahumian. Armenia Fund chose the village of 300 residents for the location a new school as a part of its Rural Development Program. The building of the new school was co-sponsored by the government of the Artsakh Republic.


The school is built with the future in mind, bearing accommodations that will allow students to have a holistic educational experience. Among the different facilities are included biology and chemistry labs, a computer lab, and a library. A unique feature at the school that speaks to its precarious geography – and with a nod to its history – is a classroom specially built for military studies.

Spanning over 10,000 square feet, the school’s campus also houses a grass sports field, as well as an outdoor playground. For Chapar’s cold winters, a boiler room was installed so that the children and faculty could benefit from central heating and not have to limit class time for lack of it.

Despite now having a brand new building outfitted with the most modern educational equipment, Chapar School’s most valued possession is distinctly antiquated: a hundred year old bell. Having survived through some of the most tumultuous times in Armenian history, the bell will hang proudly from the new building where it will continue to see off the school’s graduates in the spring and welcome new students in the fall.

This is not Chapar’s first experience with Armenia Fund. In 2012, a water pipeline almost 2.5 miles long was installed and has since provided the village with regular access to drinkable water.

Chapar is also one of the locations along the new Vardenis-Martakert Highway which is being constructed by Armenia Fund with donations from Armenians throughout the world. These developments, together with the new school and a general improvement in the village’s conditions have encouraged 15 families that had left to return and continue their lives there.

In fact, in addition to the traditional trades of the villages, which include beekeeping, animal husbandry, and agriculture, many of the village’s residents have been hired to work on the Armenia Fund infrastructure projects in and around their homes.

We can’t know what the 14-year old boy who was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers would have been if he was able to grow up. But, by continuing to build the communities that were destroyed by the War for Independence and which continue to live on the razor’s edge, we can ensure that his innocent life, and that of many others like him, was not lost in vain. The real victory in war is giving the fourteen year olds of today and tomorrow that which the ones from yesterday did not have.

http://asbarez.com/127352/armenia-fund-achieving-true-victory-in-war/

[Mher]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

Tumo Center coming to Gyumri!


Raising Funds “For the Future” of Gyumri

Yesterday, Shant TV celebrated its 20th anniversary with their “For the Future” telethon to raise funds for the launch of Tumo in Gyumri. Shant TV is still accepting donations. So far, they have raised close to 200,000 USD.

Tumo’s aim has always been to have a presence in as many communities in Armenia as possible and expand young people’s horizons by giving them the resources to achieve their full creative potential. To date, Tumo has educated over 10,000 young people in Armenia. Five and a half thousand teenagers are currently registered in Yerevan, 250 in Dilijan and Stepanakert will have the potential to educate over 1000 teenagers.

You can still donate until the end of the week. Follow this link to contribute to the future of Gyumri and Armenia.

For more information visit www.tumo.org

http://repatarmenia.org/eng/raising-funds-for-the-future-of-gyumri/

[Mher]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

Building 1000 MW capacity nuclear power plant not expedient in Armenia, expert says


YEREVAN, November 5. / ARKA /. A renewable energy expert Karen Arabyan says the Armenian government’s plan to build a new nuclear power plant with a capacity of one thousand MW is not expedient. He says construction of a facility with a capacity of 400 MW along with development of alternative energy is more practical.

He says a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1000 MW will not work effectively because there will be no demand for the entire volume of the energy it would generate.

“It is wiser to build a small plant with a capacity of 400 MW and develop concurrently the alternative energy ", says Arabyan.

Arabyan says also that the cost of building a new facility with a capacity of 1000 MW is estimated at $5-$7 billion, while the development of alternative energy will be 10 times cheaper.

Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant located some 30 kilometers west of Yerevan, was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating earthquake in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and devastated much of northern Armenia.

One of the plant’s two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in 1995. The government wants to build a new facility that is supposed to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility. Metsamor currently generates some 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. But the government has yet to attract funding for the project that was estimated as much as $5 billion.-0-

http://arka.am/en/news/technology/building_1000_mw_capacity_nuclear_power_plant_not_expedient_in_armenia_expert_says/#sthash.5H5Fynqr.dpuf

[Federate]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

If we could secure funding for the 1000 MW one, we should still build that. No domestic demand for 1000 MW but we need to think big and think about exporting excess electricity to Georgia, Iran and maybe even Turkey.

[Mher]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

If we could secure funding for the 1000 MW one, we should still build that. No domestic demand for 1000 MW but we need to think big and think about exporting excess electricity to Georgia, Iran and maybe even Turkey.

Even 1000 MW wouldn't be beyond demand. Right now Metsamor produces less than 400 MW net output and that covers 40% of Armenia's need. It only makes sense that 1000 MW would suffice demand perfectly. However, the cost of 5-7 billion is just hard too much to comprehend in terms of Armenia. That's more than twice the annual state budget. The cost of nuclear power is so heavy upfront relative to anything else. Just shutting down Metsamor is expected to cost $250 million. By comparison, the southern Armenia rail which would be a major game changer has not gotten started yet because of lack of funding and that is expected to cost about 2.7 billion. And we sure can't expect Russia to ever offer to pay any part of a new nuclear plant as that would be a strong decrease in their leverage in Armenia.

[Mher]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

Iran to Build Hydropower Plant in Armenia


TEHRAN (FNA)—Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian announced that Tehran and Yerevan have finalized an agreement on the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Armenia.

“The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for building a hydroelectric power plant in Armenia has been finalized and Iranian companies will start construction of the power plant soon,” Chitchian said in Tehran on Monday.

Elsewhere, he noted the “hi-tech and international reputation of Iranian water and power firms,” and said Iranian water-management and power plant construction companies are active in 41 regions around the world and even export a large amount of related products to other countries.

Iran and Armenia have taken major strides towards widening and deepening their relations in recent years, particularly in the economic sector.

Chitchian and his Armenian counterpart Yervand Zakharian in a meeting in Tehran in October voiced their countries’ willingness to enhance bilateral relations, particularly in the energy exchange sector.

During the meeting, Chitchian said that there had been good cooperation between the two countries over the past two decades in the field of energy.

He said the two sides agreed to launch the third energy transfer line between Iran and Armenia and construction of two hydro-electric power plants on both sides of the Aras River.

The Armenian minister, for his part, expressed the hope that work on the projects would begin soon.

Zakharian said that once these projects come on stream, energy exchange between Iran and Armenia would increase by two or three times.

http://asbarez.com/128945/iran-to-build-hydropower-plant-in-armenia/

[Tsov]

Re: Armenia: Future Projects and Developments

German Loan To Boost Armenian-Georgian Energy Ties

The Armenian government secured on Tuesday an 85.2 million-euro ($105.6 million) German loan which it said will be used for synchronizing the national power grids of Armenia and Georgia through a new transmission line. The state-run German development bank KfW disbursed the loan with an agreement which one of its senior executives signed in Yerevan with Finance Minister Gagik Khachatrian and the head of Armenia’s national electricity transmission network, Aram Ananian. A statement released by the Armenian Ministry of Finance said the loan will finance the construction of the high-voltage line and a substation on Armenia’s border with Georgia. It said that Yerevan will also receive 20 million euros in grants and loans from the European Union for the same purpose. The German and EU funding, the statement went on, will ensure the implementation of the first phase of a project designed to make the Armenian and Georgian power grids “operate in the same regime.” This will make it much easier for each country to import electricity from the other, according to the Finance Ministry. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili and Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze discussed the issue with their Armenian counterparts when they visited Yerevan in August. The Armenian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said at the time that two neighboring states will be able to more than triple mutual electricity supplies after the new transmission line goes on stream in 2018. It was also officially announced during Gharibasvhili’s trip to Yerevan that a little-known company partly or fully owned by a Georgian businessman, Teimuraz Karchava, will invest $600 million in building a natural gas-fired power plant in northern Armenia that will supply electricity to Georgia. Under an agreement finalized by Karchava and Energy Minister Yervand Zakharian, the Armenian government will give the company tax breaks and guarantee “supplies of sufficient volumes of gas” to the plant. The precise dates of its construction are still not known.

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/26734145.html