Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Seminar dedicated to Armenia’s water supply system
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan took part in a seminar dedicated to Armenia’s water supply policy. The seminar seeks to summarize interim progress in the government-initiated sector reform and outline challenges. The debate was also attended by public and private stakeholders, representatives of international financial organizations and experts.
The government has asked the World Bank to develop concept note on water policy based on situation analysis, local public-private cooperation experience and international practice.
Addressing the seminar, Tigran Sargsyan stated in part: “We have reached a new haven in economic reforms. We asked the World Bank to provide consultancy on a number of fundamental problems, including the strategy of drinking water supply management.”
The head of government further noted: “It can be stated that the government’s recent initiatives have been quite productive considering that we have ensured a 22-hour daily supply in Yerevan, first of all, thanks to the efforts of international operators.”
With reference to capital investments made in communities and the problem of proportionate regional development, the Prime Minister emphasized: “It should be noted that no investment had been made since last century’s 60-70s while estimates pointed to the need of USD 1.7bn in this area. Only recently we made some investments aimed at developing the existing infrastructures.”
Wrapping up his statement, the head of government thanked all those organizations having assisted the government with the the management of water supply system in Armenia.
Based on the findings and recommendations formulated during the seminar, all water policy-related proposals will be summarized and submitted to the next workshop scheduled for this autumn.
