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Water Will Not Get Expensive But Over The Next Month Only

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  • Water Will Not Get Expensive But Over The Next Month Only

    From: [email protected]
    Subject: Water Will Not Get Expensive But Over The Next Month Only

    WATER WILL NOT GET EXPENSIVE BUT OVER THE NEXT MONTH ONLY

    Lragir.am
    28 April 06

    The Public Utilities Commission, headed by the former mayor of Yerevan
    Robert Nazaryan, was supposed to discuss the bid of Yerevan Water
    Company on April 28. In other words, Robert Nazaryan and his
    colleagues were supposed to discuss the new tariff of water. The
    commission had even prepared the draft decision, and browsed on its
    official website.

    In the beginning of the meeting of the commission the head of the
    State Water Committee under the government of Armenia Andranik
    Andreasyan, apologizing to the participants, asked the commission to
    postpone the meeting for a month. The official excuse is the procedure
    of the management agreement, signed with the French company Generale
    Des Eaux, which will take up the management of Yerevan Water Sewage
    Company. Andranik Andreasyan says there are problems with transfers of
    property, which requires additional time. In other words, the
    agreement will take effect later than May 1, as it had been foreseen
    in the agreement, as soon as the problems of transfers of property are
    settled. Therefore the parties of the agreement asked the committee to
    put off the meeting for a month. Robert Nazaryan asked Serge Popov,
    the manager of Yerevan Water, to confirm that they accept the proposal
    of the Water Committee. Popov confirmed saying that the proposal was
    based on a mutual agreement. The meeting of the committee was
    postponed.

    `There is a huge problem of transfers of property, about 30 pieces of
    property is being transferred, there are drawbacks regarding certain
    elements, which need further elaboration. They have certain questions,
    more elucidation and within these several days or a week these
    questions will get answers. After all, a huge system is transferred,'
    says Andranik Andreasyan.

    The manager of Yerevan Water Serge Popov says the problems are typical
    of big deals. Popov says Generale des Eaux has signed similar
    contracts in the countries of East Europe where the period of transfer
    of property was 6 months but an additional three months were
    required. In Armenia the period mentioned in the contract was only 3
    months. The problems are not unexpected, and the proposal of the
    parties of contract is justified. Serge Popov says for a ten-year
    contract 15 days is not a long time. Hence, Yerevan Water Company has
    not started yet, which means that Yerevan Water Sewage Company still
    operates, and the tariff remains the same.

    Currently 1 cu. m of drinking water is 120 drams. The French suggest
    increasing it to 172.8 drams. This price is written down in the
    management contract as a source of investments. The Public Utilities
    Commission has accepted the bid of Yerevan Water but partly, as it
    usually does. However, this is not exactly the same as the previous
    cases, for with regard to water the price is mentioned in the
    contract. If the commission rejected the bid of the French company, it
    would be considered a breach of the management contract.
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