Vazgen Manukyan Sells Stake in 'Lorva Fortress'

The Ministry of Environment does not permit the construction of new hydropower plants on the Dzoraget River. In Lori, the ministry has decided not to issue water permits for the construction of two new hydropower plants. The application has been rejected for the second time. The company building these hydropower plants also has a stake held by former Prime Minister and candidate for Prime Minister of the 'National Salvation Movement', Vazgen Manukyan. This was reported by 1lurer.am.

The process for constructing two new small hydropower plants by 'Lorva Fortress' LLC on the Dzoraget River in Lori Province had begun last year, with a draft for a water usage permit being developed. 'Loriberd 1' and 'Loriberd 2' were to be built in the communities of Kurtan and Agarak in the region, and last year 'Lorva Fortress' began the process of acquiring the necessary lands for the hydropower plants and changing land categories.

80% of 'Lorva Fortress' was owned by Yerevan resident Samvel Hunanian, while 20% was owned by Vazgen Manukyan. He had acquired his stake in 2011 while serving as Chairman of the Public Council. However, last year and this year, changes in ownership stakes occurred in 'Lorva Fortress'; specifically, last March, Vazgen Manukyan sold his 20% stake to Samvel Hunanian, the owner of the remaining 80%. Since then, Hunanian has become the sole shareholder of the company.

A month ago, Hunanian transferred his 80% stake to 'Energo HEC Shin' LLC, which is currently the main shareholder of 'Lorva Fortress'. The only participant of 'Energo HEC Shin' is Lilit Hovhannissyan, who is also a minor shareholder (4.76%) of 'Amberd HEC'.

Since its inception, 'Lorva Fortress' has also had shareholders including Vazgen Manukyan's former assistant, veteran combatant Smbat Hakobyan, former Supreme Council deputy Mekhak Gabrielyan, and former Minister of Transport Eduard Madatyan (also known as Shushi Edo).

Nothing is known about the reasons behind the refusal of the water usage permit. However, even without these two hydropower plants, the Dzoraget River is already heavily exploited. 'DzorHEK' is already operational on the river, and there is a criminal investigation related to its privatization, along with 'Katnarat', 'Dzoraget 5', and 'Dzoraget 6', which belong to former Yerevan Deputy Mayor Karen Davtyan.

The 'Armenian Environmental Front' has raised several objections to the Ministry of Environment regarding the water permits. Environmentalist Levon Galstyan stated in an interview with 'Lurer' that the relevant orders of the minister have not been presented, and the reasons remain unclear. 'The two hydropower plants would have a combined 19-kilometer pipeline on the river, while four hydropower plants have already been constructed on the Dzoraget, and the fifth has been in the process of construction for several years,' Galstyan noted.

Another objection from the 'Armenian Environmental Front' pertains to the lack of an impact assessment on the environment due to water use.

'As far as I understand, if the 'Loriberd 1' and 'Loriberd 2' hydropower plants are constructed, 50% of the Dzoraget will be in pipelines, while the government has a new regulation preventing 40% of the river from being taken into pipelines,' noted the environmentalist.

'Lorva Fortress' has managed to lease several plots of land in Agarak and Kurtan between 2014 and 2015. In 2015, under the decision of the community head of Lori Fortress, Khachatur Balayan, a 1.7-hectare plot was provided to 'Lorva Fortress' for the construction of a hydropower plant, specifically for laying the pipeline. The annual servitude fee was set at 200,000 AMD. In the same community, in 2014, the council granted the company a 2-hectare area for 100,000 AMD.