Impossible dreams of Iranian gas transit through Armenia
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
The Armenian-Iranian relations, which became actual in Yerevan’s agenda after Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Tehran, are in most cases just intentions, for which there are no real opportunities.
The opening of the Qazvin-Rasht railway line, which is part of the North-South corridor, took place in Iran on March 6. This is another important event in regional transport integration.
The length of the Qazvin-Rasht railway is 164 kilometers. Bridges, tunnels and other structures were built on the railway line.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani emphasized that Qazvin-Rasht will connect not only the railways of Iran and Azerbaijan but also Russia and Northern Europe countries.
"This is a very important railway project that will unite dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern and Northern Europe. We now have excellent ties with Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. We will continue these ties with friendly states," Rouhani said.
Thus, the North-South railway corridor, in which Azerbaijan plays the role of the most important transit hub, has become a reality.
Of course, this is unpleasant news for neighboring Armenia, that hoped to gain a special role in the region after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Iran.
Armenian expert Beniamin Poghosyan considers that Armenia does not have the technical ability to transit natural gas to Georgia. He noted that the possibility of concluding gas exchange swap transactions in the trilateral Iran-Armenia-Georgia format could be discussed. But, he added, as for the Iranian gas transit through Armenia to European markets, this is excluded for two reasons.
First, Georgia does not have the infrastructure to deliver gas to European markets through its territory. Armenia has no such infrastructure either. In addition, American sanctions nullify the likelihood of Europe funding projects related to the transportation of Iranian gas.
Secondly, the gas infrastructure of Armenia belongs to a Russian company.
Meanwhile, at the end of February, it became known that Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran at the level of experts of energy companies are discussing the technical conditions for creating an energy corridor. Based on the discussions, the parties will determine the economic efficiency of the functioning of this energy bridge and decide on the expediency of launching the project.
Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made enthusiastic statements about the Armenian-Iranian projects, including railway construction, a refinery at the border with Iran, the third high-voltage transmission line (PTL), the transit of Iranian gas, the creation of an electricity corridor Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Russia and construction HPP on the Araz River on the Iran-Armenia border.
However, they either go too slow or are not implemented at all. The reason for this is the economic unprofitability of the listed projects.
Indeed, the Iran-Armenia railway project is already more than 10 years old, but the matter has not gone further. Due to the lack of funds and infrastructure in the territory of Armenia and the lack of interest of Iran, the project has not moved from the dead point.
It is estimated at $3-4 billion, which, of course, Armenia does not have. The Iranian side is not in a hurry to invest in a useless road, given the presence of an already operating railway corridor through Azerbaijan.
Iran from the very beginning stated that it was ready to rebuild its section of the route, but Yerevan would have to finance the Armenian section itself or find funds. This is unrealistic, since Armenia accounts for 70 percent of the way, and, moreover, a complex route involving the construction of bridges and 120 kilometers of tunnels.
The Iranian oil refinery construction project in Armenia is also unpromising. Talks about refineries are also more than 10 years old.
In a word, Iran-Armenia projects are now regarded only at the level of political rhetoric.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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