Loan Funds Misappropriated: Project for Improvement and Purification of Drinking Water System Proves Ineffective

The Public Interests Protection Department of the RA Prosecutor General's Office has studied documents received from the Water Committee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure regarding the implementation of the loan program for improving and purifying the drinking water system in Yerevan.

The necessary information was also requested and obtained from the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia. As a result, factual data has emerged regarding apparent abuses of official powers by responsible officials of the RA Water Committee.

According to the information, state and loan funds allocated by the government of the French Republic were intended for improving and purifying Yerevan's water supply system, particularly through enhancements in the preliminary treatment of wastewater and sludge, aimed at restoring the "Aeration" wastewater treatment plant.

Accordingly, a contract worth €10.4 million was signed on December 30, 2014, between the Community Development Fund of the Yerevan Municipality and a French organization, with a deadline for construction set at 20 months, meaning the plant was to be commissioned no later than September 1, 2016.

A completion act was drawn up by the director of the mentioned fund and the French organization without any date mentioned, and a report dated August 31, 2017, indicated that approximately AMD 7.12 billion, equivalent to about $15 million, had been paid for the restoration works.

However, it has been established that the "Aeration" wastewater treatment plant in Yerevan has not yet been commissioned.

The property created as part of the program for improving Yerevan’s water supply and drainage has been consolidated with the state institution "Water Economy Program Implementation Office" under the Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia, whose main function is to manage and ensure the safe use of state-owned water systems.

Meanwhile, monitoring of the water quality of the Hrazdan River conducted by the Environmental Monitoring and Information Center state non-commercial organization at a site 9 km downstream from Yerevan during the years 2014-2019 has rated the water quality as class 5, which indicates poor quality, primarily due to the impact of untreated municipal sewage from Yerevan.

In other words, the funds allocated for the improvement and purification of Yerevan’s water supply system, amounting to approximately AMD 7.12 billion, have been misappropriated, not preventing potential ecological dangers and causing severe consequences.

Considering that factual data containing characteristics of apparent criminal offenses has been obtained as a result of the investigation, a criminal case has been initiated in the Public Interests Protection Department of the RA Prosecutor General's Office under Article 308, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code. The investigation has been assigned to the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia.