We Must Accumulate Water: We Don’t Know What the Price of Water Will Be in 10 Years, Says Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired the 7th meeting of the Public Investment Committee, where five reservoir construction projects were presented and discussed.

The Deputy Chair of the Water Committee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Martiros Nalbandyan, noted that investment programs propose the construction of reservoirs in the villages of Kasakh in the Armavir region, Yelpin in the Vayots Dzor region, Astghadzor in the Gegharkunik region, and Lichq in the Syunik region, as well as the reconstruction of the reservoir in the village of Artik in the Shirak region.

The meeting further addressed questions regarding the volumes and sources of investments, as well as the expected outcomes of the projects. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of implementing these projects and stated that global processes are unfolding in such a way that the approach should be: where it is possible to accumulate water, we should accumulate water.

“We don’t know what the price of water will be in 10 years or the significance of water. Nevertheless, we know with confidence that it will increase, it will not decrease; there is no scenario in which the price, value, or significance of water decreases. Therefore, my understanding is as follows: where it is possible to accumulate water, we should accumulate it, because where there is water, I am sure that economic activity will flourish around it,” said Nikol Pashinyan.

He added that resources should be invested in places where there can be maximum impact. “If we keep building reservoirs and maintain our irrigation culture as it currently is, we simply won’t have enough reservoirs built. The effect of this is twofold: firstly, our agricultural technologies must change, and secondly, the method of water management must change. Today, we have operators in our market saying ‘we don’t want water at 10 drams.’ They want as much water as they want and are saying, ‘what price are you giving it at?’ We are ready to pay that price. People are willing to pay for water, rather than waiting for their turn. They are making large investments and saying, ‘give us water not at 10 drams, but at 30 drams, 40 drams, or 50 drams, but provide it on demand,’” emphasized the Prime Minister.

As a result of the discussions, the aforementioned projects were approved by the Investment Committee and will move into the practical phase.