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Leader of Armenia's `Free Democrats' is Building a 2nd Hydro-Plant on
the Same River - Photos
Kristine Aghalaryan
16:05, September 11, 2013
Small Hydro-Electric Plants: Attractive Profits and Environmental Annihilation
MP Khachatur Kokobelyan, leader of the Free Democrats Party is
building a new small hydro plant (SHP) on the Paghdjour River in the
village of Getahovit in Armenia's Tavoush Province. This will be his
second SHP on the site.
A third SHP, `Khachaghbyour 2', is being built by MegaEnergy Ltd. The
100% shareholder of the company is Gegham Aghadjanyan, an Armenian
citizen.
In its answer to our inquiry, Armenia's Ministry of Nature Protection
stated that Energy Kok Ltd. had presented a business plan and that on
September 1, 2009 the ministry issued a positive Environmental Impact
Assessment for the Khachaghbyur SHP. Four years have since past. At
the time an operating license hadn't been issue to MegaEnergy to build
the Khachaghbyur-2 SHP on the Paghdjour River. Public hearings that
took place were merely for show. (Energy Kok belongs to the
Kokobelyan family, but the MP denied that they were building the SHP -
K.A.)
None of the residents gathered in the center of Getahovit could
remember any public hearings ever being held for the SHP being built
by Kokobelyan. Nevertheless, village mayor Artour Ghazaryan claims
that the company possesses all the required documents and that
everything was finalized years ago.
We tried to reach Kokobelyan throughput the day on September 9, but
failed to talk to him at any length. At first he claimed he was busy
and told us to call again after 4pm. We did, but again he claimed he
was busy and promised to call us back the next day by noon. He never
did. We asked for the name of someone else we could talk to about the
SHP. Kokobelyan answered that he was the only one qualified to speak
about the matter. We should remind readers that the National
Assembly's `Rules of Procedure' (Article 9.1), specifically prohibits
Members of Parliament from engaging in entrepreneurial activities. It
appears, however, that Khachatur Kokobelyan is personally managing and
overseeing his SHP business. Why else would he tell us that he is the
only person qualifies to answer our questions?
The construction site of Kokobelyan's new SHP
The building housing Kokobelyan's operating SHP
The water intake complex
Two pipes take the water from the intake tank to the main station. The
river bed you see is what's left of the flow after the environmental
discharge.
In the background is the fish ladder. Theoretically, the river's fish
are supposed to climb or descend this during their migration.
According to data in the Ministry of Nature Protections' assessment,
Kokobelyan's SHP will feature four hydro-turbines with a combined
output of 1,292 kilowatts. An environmental discharge of 1,100 liters
per second is planned for. In order to minimize and prevent any
possible environmental damage, the site will be leveled, fenced off
and replanted after the SHP is built. The plan calls for fifteen trees
to be planted. The area to get new plantings will cover 450 square
meters. The plantings and cosmetic improvements will cost 830,000 AMD.
Environmental measures will cost some 7.1 million AMD. By the way,
bio-toilets will be installed for workers.
These are numbers that are usually presented in the initial plans.
But, more importantly, there are no agencies that monitor how many
trees were actually cut down in order to install the 1,430 meters of
pipe to carry the river water to the SHP. And who will certify that
the company actually planted the fifteen trees promised?
We were not allowed to enter the construction site. Director Loris
Yeghoyan said that he was ready to answer our questions at the
company's office on Northern Avenue in Yerevan. He specifically
stressed this. Yeghoyan said he couldn't permit us entry to the
construction site because he couldn't ensure our safety. `We have no
safety helmets,' he said. Indeed, none of the workers wore safety
helmets, even though the SHP is regarded as a danger zone.
The village of Getahovit
Getahovit lies 700 meters above sea level. According to the
environmental impact assessment, the pipes at the new Kokobelyan SHP
will start at an elevation of 656 meters and end at the main water
input section of the SHP at an elevation of 725 meters.
According to figures of the Public Services Regulatory Commission, the
pipes at Kokobelyan's SHP will start at 731 meters and end up at 850
meters. As for the MegaEnergy SHP, the pipes will begin at 860 meters
and wind up at 1,050 meters.
Another company, ATVA Ltd., received water usage rights in 2011 for
the Khachaghbyour-3 and Khachaghbyour-4 SHPs on the Paghdjour River.
However the Public Services Regulatory Commission has still not
granted the company a license. ATVA Ltd. is owned by Arben Ghoulanyan,
a former Executive Director of Armenia Water and Sewerage CJSC, and an
advisor to the President of the State Water Economy Committee of the
Ministry of Territorial Administration of Armenia. This agency told
Hetq that the SHPs would be at an elevation of around 1,400 meters.
These figures show that water from the Paghdjour River below will be
mainly piped to the SHPs at a higher elevation. If the SHP owners
decide not to allow for an environment discharge, as is the case with
the vast majority of SHPs now operating in Armenia, Getahovit
residents will be deprived of using the river for irrigation and other
purposes. There will be little or no water left to flow.
The once struggling residents have given in and no longer want to
discuss the SHPs. They regard any further struggle as pointless.
The efforts of Getahovit residents and environmentalists to prevent
one of the SHPs under construction proved fruitless. Today, the
situation has changed add residents are no longer voicing their
opposition. In private conversations with them it is clear that while
all are opposed to the SHPs, no one can publicly express it. They are
afraid of doing so. Some of the residents say they have been
intimidated, while others say they have been `bought off'.
Construction continues. One Getahovit woman offered her solution - let
them fill the pipe with dirt and be done with.
One magnificent section of Tavoush's natural landscape is being
destroyed. Various government agencies, including the Ministry of
Nature Protection, are assisting in the destruction. The Public
Services Regulatory Commission and local community leaders are also
playing their part in the destruction.
They are directing the waters of the Paghdjour River, slowly but
surely, into feeder pipes. This translates into the destruction of the
flora and fauna of the river and its surroundings.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/29256/leader-of-armenia%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cfree-democrats%E2%80%9D-is-building-a-2nd-hydro-plant-on-the-same-river.html
the Same River - Photos
Kristine Aghalaryan
16:05, September 11, 2013
Small Hydro-Electric Plants: Attractive Profits and Environmental Annihilation
MP Khachatur Kokobelyan, leader of the Free Democrats Party is
building a new small hydro plant (SHP) on the Paghdjour River in the
village of Getahovit in Armenia's Tavoush Province. This will be his
second SHP on the site.
A third SHP, `Khachaghbyour 2', is being built by MegaEnergy Ltd. The
100% shareholder of the company is Gegham Aghadjanyan, an Armenian
citizen.
In its answer to our inquiry, Armenia's Ministry of Nature Protection
stated that Energy Kok Ltd. had presented a business plan and that on
September 1, 2009 the ministry issued a positive Environmental Impact
Assessment for the Khachaghbyur SHP. Four years have since past. At
the time an operating license hadn't been issue to MegaEnergy to build
the Khachaghbyur-2 SHP on the Paghdjour River. Public hearings that
took place were merely for show. (Energy Kok belongs to the
Kokobelyan family, but the MP denied that they were building the SHP -
K.A.)
None of the residents gathered in the center of Getahovit could
remember any public hearings ever being held for the SHP being built
by Kokobelyan. Nevertheless, village mayor Artour Ghazaryan claims
that the company possesses all the required documents and that
everything was finalized years ago.
We tried to reach Kokobelyan throughput the day on September 9, but
failed to talk to him at any length. At first he claimed he was busy
and told us to call again after 4pm. We did, but again he claimed he
was busy and promised to call us back the next day by noon. He never
did. We asked for the name of someone else we could talk to about the
SHP. Kokobelyan answered that he was the only one qualified to speak
about the matter. We should remind readers that the National
Assembly's `Rules of Procedure' (Article 9.1), specifically prohibits
Members of Parliament from engaging in entrepreneurial activities. It
appears, however, that Khachatur Kokobelyan is personally managing and
overseeing his SHP business. Why else would he tell us that he is the
only person qualifies to answer our questions?
The construction site of Kokobelyan's new SHP
The building housing Kokobelyan's operating SHP
The water intake complex
Two pipes take the water from the intake tank to the main station. The
river bed you see is what's left of the flow after the environmental
discharge.
In the background is the fish ladder. Theoretically, the river's fish
are supposed to climb or descend this during their migration.
According to data in the Ministry of Nature Protections' assessment,
Kokobelyan's SHP will feature four hydro-turbines with a combined
output of 1,292 kilowatts. An environmental discharge of 1,100 liters
per second is planned for. In order to minimize and prevent any
possible environmental damage, the site will be leveled, fenced off
and replanted after the SHP is built. The plan calls for fifteen trees
to be planted. The area to get new plantings will cover 450 square
meters. The plantings and cosmetic improvements will cost 830,000 AMD.
Environmental measures will cost some 7.1 million AMD. By the way,
bio-toilets will be installed for workers.
These are numbers that are usually presented in the initial plans.
But, more importantly, there are no agencies that monitor how many
trees were actually cut down in order to install the 1,430 meters of
pipe to carry the river water to the SHP. And who will certify that
the company actually planted the fifteen trees promised?
We were not allowed to enter the construction site. Director Loris
Yeghoyan said that he was ready to answer our questions at the
company's office on Northern Avenue in Yerevan. He specifically
stressed this. Yeghoyan said he couldn't permit us entry to the
construction site because he couldn't ensure our safety. `We have no
safety helmets,' he said. Indeed, none of the workers wore safety
helmets, even though the SHP is regarded as a danger zone.
The village of Getahovit
Getahovit lies 700 meters above sea level. According to the
environmental impact assessment, the pipes at the new Kokobelyan SHP
will start at an elevation of 656 meters and end at the main water
input section of the SHP at an elevation of 725 meters.
According to figures of the Public Services Regulatory Commission, the
pipes at Kokobelyan's SHP will start at 731 meters and end up at 850
meters. As for the MegaEnergy SHP, the pipes will begin at 860 meters
and wind up at 1,050 meters.
Another company, ATVA Ltd., received water usage rights in 2011 for
the Khachaghbyour-3 and Khachaghbyour-4 SHPs on the Paghdjour River.
However the Public Services Regulatory Commission has still not
granted the company a license. ATVA Ltd. is owned by Arben Ghoulanyan,
a former Executive Director of Armenia Water and Sewerage CJSC, and an
advisor to the President of the State Water Economy Committee of the
Ministry of Territorial Administration of Armenia. This agency told
Hetq that the SHPs would be at an elevation of around 1,400 meters.
These figures show that water from the Paghdjour River below will be
mainly piped to the SHPs at a higher elevation. If the SHP owners
decide not to allow for an environment discharge, as is the case with
the vast majority of SHPs now operating in Armenia, Getahovit
residents will be deprived of using the river for irrigation and other
purposes. There will be little or no water left to flow.
The once struggling residents have given in and no longer want to
discuss the SHPs. They regard any further struggle as pointless.
The efforts of Getahovit residents and environmentalists to prevent
one of the SHPs under construction proved fruitless. Today, the
situation has changed add residents are no longer voicing their
opposition. In private conversations with them it is clear that while
all are opposed to the SHPs, no one can publicly express it. They are
afraid of doing so. Some of the residents say they have been
intimidated, while others say they have been `bought off'.
Construction continues. One Getahovit woman offered her solution - let
them fill the pipe with dirt and be done with.
One magnificent section of Tavoush's natural landscape is being
destroyed. Various government agencies, including the Ministry of
Nature Protection, are assisting in the destruction. The Public
Services Regulatory Commission and local community leaders are also
playing their part in the destruction.
They are directing the waters of the Paghdjour River, slowly but
surely, into feeder pipes. This translates into the destruction of the
flora and fauna of the river and its surroundings.
http://hetq.am/eng/news/29256/leader-of-armenia%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cfree-democrats%E2%80%9D-is-building-a-2nd-hydro-plant-on-the-same-river.html