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ANOTHER WORLD BANK LOAN FOR ARMENIAN IRRIGATION SYSTEM
By Hovannes Shoghikian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug 1 2007
The World Bank has approved the release of a fresh $5 million loan
that will be used for upgrading Armenia's battered irrigation networks.
In a statement issued after a Tuesday meeting in Washington of its
governing board, the World Bank said the money will be disbursed as
part of its Irrigation Development Project (IDP) for Armenia which was
launched in 1994, at the height of the country's post-Soviet economic
slump. The bank has already provided about $100 million under scheme
designed to improve Armenian farmers' access to irrigation water.
"Armenia has achieved substantial progress in preventing deterioration
of its irrigation and drainage infrastructure," the statement said. It
cited institutional and structural reforms implemented by the Armenian
government in the management of water resources.
The World Bank said most of the loan will be spent on the
rehabilitation of some 110 kilometers of canals supplying water to
37 communities across Armenia.
According to Adibek Ghazarian, chief of the IDP implementation unit
in Yerevan, the canals cover about 10,000 hectares of agricultural
land. He said they have fallen into disrepair since the Soviet
collapse.
The same is true for much of the country's entire irrigation system.
Its poor condition means that most Armenian farmers are essentially
at the mercy of weather conditions, regularly suffering losses as a
result of drought.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Ghazarian estimated that at least half of
water supplied through 15,000 kilometer-long networks of canals and
irrigation pipes does not reach farmers. About 200 kilometers of
leaky canals have already been repaired as a result of a previous
World Bank loan provided within the IDP framework, he said.
The agricultural sector will receive a more massive boost if the
United States presses ahead with the disbursement of $235 million in
economic assistance to Armenia under the Millennium Challenge Account
program. Most of the promised aid, $146 million, is due to be used
for rebuilding and expanding the irrigation system. Officials say
that would increase the total area of irrigated land by 40 percent.
By Hovannes Shoghikian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug 1 2007
The World Bank has approved the release of a fresh $5 million loan
that will be used for upgrading Armenia's battered irrigation networks.
In a statement issued after a Tuesday meeting in Washington of its
governing board, the World Bank said the money will be disbursed as
part of its Irrigation Development Project (IDP) for Armenia which was
launched in 1994, at the height of the country's post-Soviet economic
slump. The bank has already provided about $100 million under scheme
designed to improve Armenian farmers' access to irrigation water.
"Armenia has achieved substantial progress in preventing deterioration
of its irrigation and drainage infrastructure," the statement said. It
cited institutional and structural reforms implemented by the Armenian
government in the management of water resources.
The World Bank said most of the loan will be spent on the
rehabilitation of some 110 kilometers of canals supplying water to
37 communities across Armenia.
According to Adibek Ghazarian, chief of the IDP implementation unit
in Yerevan, the canals cover about 10,000 hectares of agricultural
land. He said they have fallen into disrepair since the Soviet
collapse.
The same is true for much of the country's entire irrigation system.
Its poor condition means that most Armenian farmers are essentially
at the mercy of weather conditions, regularly suffering losses as a
result of drought.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Ghazarian estimated that at least half of
water supplied through 15,000 kilometer-long networks of canals and
irrigation pipes does not reach farmers. About 200 kilometers of
leaky canals have already been repaired as a result of a previous
World Bank loan provided within the IDP framework, he said.
The agricultural sector will receive a more massive boost if the
United States presses ahead with the disbursement of $235 million in
economic assistance to Armenia under the Millennium Challenge Account
program. Most of the promised aid, $146 million, is due to be used
for rebuilding and expanding the irrigation system. Officials say
that would increase the total area of irrigated land by 40 percent.