ARMENIAN DM CONSIDERS EXPEDIENT TRANSFER OF ARMENIAN PROPERTY TO RUSSIA AS COMPENSATION FOR GAS TARIFF RISE
Yerevan, April 11. ArmInfo. Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan
considers expedient the transfer of Armenian property to Russia as
compensation for the gas tariff rise.
He wonders that all and sundry are holding forth about this subject
but have no slightest idea what the 5th unit of the Hrazdan TPP
actually is.
Today the unit is like a three-floor house with only ground floor
built. But some know-alls say that “only” $150 mln is needed to repair
it. So, it turns out that the unit has already worked and just needs
repairs and that $150 mln is a very small sum for those know-alls. The
real situation is quite different. The repairs require at least $180
mln – money that could be repaid in 10 years at earliest. In such a
case Armenia would have a profitable unit by 2017 at best. But only
Nostradamus knows what kind of profit that would be and what kind of
gas prices there would be at that time, says Sargsyan.
So, Sargsyan asks: what is more profitable for the state – to sell
inoperative unit for $250 mln or to wait for it to begin to give
some tiny profit in 2017. The key principle here is what the state,
industry and people need.
Sargsyan does not agree with the opinion that all energy companies of
Armenia are in the hands of Russia. He says that one should not mix
politics with economy. One should see what is good for the Armenian
economy. Simply some local hysterical politicians think that we
should decline any offer by Russia, but accept an offer by, say,
Belgium. The word “Russia” for them is like a red rag for a bull.
This is a wrong approach. One should not create problems for oneself
and then heroically overcome them.
The 5th unit deal has a long history. 5-6 years ago RAO UES and
Rosgazprom offered to buy it but stipulated that Armenia should buy
the whole electricity to be produced there. It was not profitable for
Armenia and the country declined the offer. But now that the terms
have got better Armenia has agreed.