The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a US$40 million loan for the Additional Financing of the Electricity Supply Reliability Project for Armenia.

This additional financing would scale up activities to enhance the impact of the ongoing project and cover the cost of rehabilitation of three substations essential for Armenia’s power transmission network – the Haghtanak, Charentsavan-3, and Vanadzor-1 substations.

Total financing of the project is US$50 million, of which US$10 million will be the Armenian Government’s contribution.

The WB Board of Executive Directors also approved a US$50 million loan for the Trade Promotion and Quality Infrastructure Project for Armenia.

This project is designed to strengthen the government’s capacity to promote exports, attract foreign and domestic investments, and enhance quality services to business expansion.

“Armenia has a relatively low export base, dominated by a few products with low value added content, reflecting the declining sophistication of its export sectors. The country also needs to step-up private investments, notably foreign direct investment (FDI). Left unchanged, the current structure of export basket will do little to mitigate the country’s vulnerability to global competition and will lead to a lower growth trajectory. In addition, Armenia’s national quality infrastructure suffers from substantial weaknesses that hinder technology upgrading and undermine the competitiveness of its exports”, WB press release said.

Total financing of the project is US$59.54 million, of which US$9.54 million will be the Armenian Government’s contribution.