Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced the imminent completion of the Vedi Reservoir, a large-scale project expected to be finished by the end of this year. The project, valued at 90 million euros, is located on the right bank of the Vedi River in the Ararat region.
The reservoir will have a capacity of 29.4 million cubic meters and is designed to address several key challenges in the region's agriculture and energy sectors.
According to Pashinyan, the new facility will enable the irrigation of more than 3,220 hectares of farmland, significantly improving agricultural conditions in the area and benefiting approximately 5,000 people.
The project's environmental aspect is particularly noteworthy. Switching from mechanical to gravity irrigation is expected to save about 19 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Additionally, the demand for water extraction from Lake Sevan for irrigation purposes will decrease by 18 million cubic meters per year, reducing the strain on the lake's ecosystem.
The project is being carried out with significant support from the French Development Agency, which is financing more than 80% of the total cost.
