The launch date of the construction of the Meghri hydropower station on the border between Armenia and Iran will be determined at the end of October, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Ara Simonyan stated this while discussing the report on the state budget for 2011, ARKA reported.
"The starting date of the Meghri hydropower station construction will be specified at a joint meeting of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission to be held in Armenia from Oct. 22-25," he said.
The deputy minister also said that the joint energy programmes with Iran are urgent for Armenia.
However, the economic consequences of recent events in Iran affected the pace of implementing the Armenian-Iranian programmes as they require large financial investments.
Armenian and Iranian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad instructed the ministers of the two countries on December 23, 2011 to start practical implementation of strategic programmes for the construction of the oil pipeline, the Iranian-Armenian railway, as well as a hydroelectric power plant on the Araks River in 2012.
Armenia and Iran plan to build two most powerful hydroelectric stations in the South Caucasus on the bordering river Aras.
The agreement of building two hydropower stations on the border river Aras was signed between Armenia and Iran on March 19, 2007.