Armenia should liberalize its water market to encourage private investment in the sector, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a water reform workshop in Dilijan.
Pashinyan said almost all communities in Armenia have significant and tangible problems related to irrigation water during the “Water Sector Reforms 2026-2031” workshop.
He also said the water market should be liberalized, Sputnik Armenia reports.
“Today, we have set a price in the irrigation sector, exactly half of which is subsidized by the government, but the set price itself does not reflect reality. There is another problem as well: today, there are businesses and investors in Armenia who say, ‘We pay for water, sell us water.’ It seems like a simple and logical economic question, but in reality these opportunities are limited in Armenia, at least because of our existing regulations. We must be able to establish a water market in Armenia,” the prime minister said.
According to Pashinyan, only a small portion of Armenia’s arable land, orchards and plantations has access to irrigation.
He said this is the reform that would provide an incentive for private investment in the water sector. According to the prime minister, if a system is established and there is a political message that investment can be made in the water sector and irrigation water can become a subject of market relations, it could significantly change the situation.
Pashinyan stressed that a roadmap for water sector reforms must be developed to achieve all the objectives that have been set.
