ArmInfo. High levels of fullness have been recorded in all major reservoirs in Armenia. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure David Khudatyan announced this in parliament on June 12.
According to him, this is due to the heavy precipitation that fell in late 2025 and the first half of 2026.
The minister also touched on two major projects: the construction of the Vedi and Kaps reservoirs. Specifically, Khudatyan reported that the Vedi reservoir is continuing to undergo phased filling and emptying, which is necessary to achieve the required strength of the dam and reservoir foundation before its final filling.
Speaking about the Kaps Reservoir, the minister recalled that last year, the contract with the Chinese contractor was terminated due to significant delays. He said that the existing design is currently being finalized. Specifically, the reservoir's area has been increased by 2.5 times.
"We are already close to completing the design work, after which all necessary assessments will be conducted and a new construction tender will be announced," Khudatyan said.
He expressed hope that the new contractor will be able to complete construction and commission the facility on schedule.
"This is the largest program in the industry, and it is our focus," the minister emphasized. As a reminder, on January 26, 2016, the French Development Agency allocated a ?75 million loan to the Republic of Armenia to finance the construction of the Vedi reservoir (with ?15 million co-financing from the RA government). The project envisages the construction of a 29.4 cubic meter reservoir with a water surface area of 120 hectares. The Vedi and Khosrov rivers of the Ararat region will serve as water sources. It was noted that full implementation of the program will alleviate water shortages in the Ararat Valley and transition from mechanical irrigation to a gravity-fed system, which will in turn lead to energy savings. As a result of the program's implementation, water intake from Lake Sevan will be reduced by 19 million cubic meters (ensuring uninterrupted and reliable irrigation of approximately 3,220 hectares of land), and the area of irrigated land will increase by approximately 300 hectares.
After the reservoir is operational, 11 pumping stations will be shut down, and another three will be partially shut down. Annual savings will amount to approximately 1 billion drams or 19 million kWh of electricity. Intra-grid losses will be reduced by 20-25%. The program was initially planned for completion within four years.
One of the bank's most important projects in Armenia is the completion of the Kaps Reservoir. The reservoir, unfinished due to the 1988 earthquake, has a design capacity of 110 million cubic meters of water and is located in the Shirak region, 22 km northwest of Gyumri, in the Akhuryan River valley.
The program, with a total budget of ?70 million, is financed by the German development bank KfW. The loan agreement entered into force on June 29, 2019. The final disbursement deadline was set for December 30, 2019, but was subsequently extended to June 30, 2024. The first phase of the program plans to complete the construction of a reservoir with a capacity of 25 million cubic meters of water. The second phase is planned to increase the infrastructure to 60 million cubic meters. The project includes the construction of auxiliary structures for the Kaps Reservoir dam, equipping hydrological observation stations on the Akhuryan River (from Lake Arpi to the Akhuryan Reservoir), constructing additional stations, and creating a centralized database (SCADA system).
