Iran May Boost Gas Export to Armenia by Five Fold

Iran may boost gas export to Armenia by five folds provided that Armenia builds a new power transmission line between the two countries, the director of the National Iranian Gas Exports Company, Alireza Kameli, said.

Iran exports gas to Armenia in exchange for importing electricity from the country, Mehr news agency quoted Kameli as saying on February 7.

For the time being, Iran exports some 1mn m³ per day of gas to Armenia, he said, adding that Armenia has recently started the construction of a 400KV transmission line, which is expected to be completed by the next two years.

In August 2015, Iran and Armenia signed a deal, worth 107 million euros, on the construction of a 275-km power line that will link the two countries' power grids.

The contractor for the project will be Iran's Sunir, which will carry out the construction work, supply and install the equipment, and launch and operate the power line.

About 70% of the cost will be financed by the Export Development Bank of Iran, and Sunir will finance the remainder.

The current transmission lines between the two countries have 300MW capacity and the new line would bring the total transmission capacity to 1,000MW.