Baku wants Iran to develop power plants

Azerbaijan has called on Iran to expedite the implementation of a plan which envisages the joint construction of power plants by the two countries. 

Etibar Pirverdiyev, the head of Azerenergy JSC which is the largest electrical power producer in Azerbaijan, said the joint construction of new power plants by Azerbaijan and Iran will enhance energy stability and export potential of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

“This project is very important for both Azerbaijan and Iran,” Pirverdiyev was quoted as saying by Azernews agency.

In August, Iran’s lawmakers approved a bill on joint construction of two hydropower plants with Azerbaijan.

The bill authorizes the construction of the plants near the Aras River borderline in the Iranian town of Marazad and Azerbaijan’s Ordubad.

This was part of several topics that Iran and Azerbaijan agreed on in a basic agreement they signed in December 2015.

The document envisages cooperation in construction of power plants at Khoda Afarin and Qiz Qalasi dams on Aras river as well as the construction of Ordubad power plant on the Azerbaijani side and Marazad power plant on the Iranian side.

Iran and Azerbaijan have been recently increasing their cooperation in multiple areas. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani visited Baku in early August for a tripartite summit that also involved Russia. During his stay in the Azeri capital, Iran and Azerbaijan signed a series of basic agreements to promote cooperation in several key areas.

A key document was a protocol of intentions that envisages the materialization of an ambitious project to create a North-South transport corridor.

The corridor – named the North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) – is an intercontinental multi-modal route that would link St. Petersburg to Mumbai. It primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road.