The 7th session of the Public Investment Committee was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. 5 reservoir construction projects were presented and discussed.

Martiros Nalbandyan, Deputy Chairman of the Water Committee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, noted that the investment programs propose the construction of reservoirs in the settlements of Kasakh in Armavir region, Yelpin in Vayots Dzor region, Astghadzor in Gegharkunik region, and Lichk in Syunik region, and the reconstruction of the reservoir in the settlement of Artik in Shirak region.

According to Nalbadyan, it is planned that the total volume of the Kasakh reservoir will be 10 million cubic meters, as a result, the water supply level of 4517 hectares of land will be increased, irrigation will be provided in an additional 503 hectares of land. The cost of the project is 15.4 billion drams. The reservoir will be located in the Sevan-Hrazdan water intake system, therefore, according to him, it will be possible to mitigate risks and their possible impacts on Lake Sevan through the stored water.

The total volume of the Yelpin reservoir will be 0.93 million cubic meters. It is expected that as a result, the water supply level of 132 ha of land will be increased, irrigation will be provided in an additional 168 ha of land, 0.3 million kWh of electricity will be saved. The cost of the project is estimated at 3.3 billion drams.

The total volume of the Astghadzor reservoir will be 1.55 million cubic meters, which will increase the water supply level of 210 ha of land, irrigation will be provided in an additional 530 ha of land, and 1.6 million kWh of electricity will be saved annually. The cost of the project is estimated at 7.5 billion drams. The Deputy Chairman of the Water Committee noted that being located in the Lake Sevan basin, it is expected that the reservoir will significantly reduce various existing risks, and in some cases, will neutralize their negative impact.

The total volume of the Artik reservoir to be reconstructed will be 1.479 million cubic meters, it is expected to involve an additional 300 hectares of land in agricultural activities. The cost of the project is estimated at 5.7 billion drams.

The total volume of the Lichq reservoir will be 4 million cubic meters, it is expected to increase the water supply level of 1315.8 hectares of land, save 2.1 million kWh of electricity and irrigate 195 hectares of additional land. The cost of the project is estimated at 11.4 billion drams.

Martiros Nalbandyan added that the implementation of the above-mentioned projects will accumulate a total of 18 million cubic meters of water, the total volume of construction will amount to more than 40 billion drams, the volume of actually irrigated land will amount to 6175 hectares, the number of new irrigated land to be involved in agriculture will be 1696 hectares. About 40 settlements will benefit from the projects, the number of direct and indirect beneficiaries will be 700 thousand people, the annual amount of electricity saved will be 3.8 million kWh.

Next, issues related to the volume of investments, sources, as well as the expected results from the projects were discussed.

The Prime Minister attached importance to the implementation of the projects and noted that global processes are proceeding in such a way that the approach should be as follows: where it is possible to store water, water should be stored. "We don't know what the price of water will be in 10 years and the importance of water. Although we know for sure that it will increase, not decrease, there is no option for the price, value or importance of water to decrease. Such a scenario does not exist at all. And therefore, my perception is as follows: wherever it is possible to store water, we should store water, because wherever there is water, I am sure that some economic activity will develop around it," Nikol Pashinyan noted.

According to the Prime Minister, resources should be invested in places where the maximum result can be achieved in terms of impact. "If we build reservoirs like this, and our irrigation culture remains as it is, we will not manage to build so many reservoirs. The effect of this is twofold: first, our agricultural technologies must also change in the process, and second, the method of water management must change. Today, business entities appear in our market who say, "We don't want water for 10 drams. We want water as much as we want, tell us at what price you will give it. We are ready to pay that price''. People are ready to pay for water, not to wait to see if their turn will arrive or not. They are making large investments and saying, "Give us water not for 10 drams, but for 30 drams, 40 drams, 50 drams, but give it on demand," the Prime Minister noted.

As a result of the discussion, the above-mentioned projects were approved by the Investment Committee and the projects will enter the practical phase.