YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. During the February 11 sitting of the Board of Trustees of the Armenia Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Fund conducted by the Board's chairman, Armenian prime minister Tigran Sargsyan, the report on the 2008 activities of the Fund was approved. Presenting the results of last year's activities, the director of the Fund Tamara Babayan said that in 2008 the Fund continued implementing a number of programs launched in 2006, including the World Bank-financed City Heating credit project, the Global Environmental Protection Measures trust fund-financed Renewable Energy grant program, as well as the World Bank and Global Partnership for Output-Based Aid-financed Heating and Gas project. These projects will be implemented until the end of this year. As regards the implementation of the decisions taken at the previous sitting of the Board of Trustees, T. Babayan said that all the instructions were carried out completely and in time. In particular, preparatory work on the necessary measures for approval of the Geothermal Program and its rapid launching has been completed. Negotiations took place between the Armenian delegation and the World Bank on January 29, 2009, as a result of which the WB will provide 1.5 million dollars as a grant, and 300 thousand drams (17% of the expenses) will be allocated from the state budget of Armenia. It is envisaged finishing the program in 2010.

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