President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday inaugurated water projects in western Kermanshah Province completed at a total cost of $285 million.
"The government has tapped into the National Development Fund of Iran to undertake the mega projects," Rouhani told the inauguration ceremony attended by his Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, Paven, the Energy Ministry news portal reported.
He said 37 dams have become operational during the past seven years and five will be completed soon.
Highlighting the proximity of the province, the president said, "Border towns and counties are important and should be developed."
The projects included 5 dams, namely Hirouy in Paveh, Jamishan in Sonqor, Sharafshah in Gilangharb, Ozgoleh in Salas-e Babajani and Tangehhamam in Qasr-e Shirin.
Sharafshah and Jamishan dams were built at an estimated cost of $85 million and $10 million respectively.
Water in Hirouy Dam will be diverted to the 50km Nosoud water transfer tunnel that also went on stream the same day. The tunnel will provide water for farming over 18,000 hectares in Kermanshah along with the Mousian and Dehloran counties in Ilam Province.
Ardakanian said 61 water projects including 42 dams are being completed in 12 border regions, namely in Ilam and West Azarbaijan that will create jobs for 320,000 people and underpin the farming and fishing industries. More than 25 million people live in these provinces.
The new projects will supply water to 46 cities and help generate 450 megawatts of electricity.
"Close to 1,100km of water transfer canals and tunnels are being built, of which 950km is ready" the minister said.
The next phase of the projects needs $200 million and includes 12 dams with the capacity to collect 2.5 billion cubic meters of water.
Work on building a 650km water pipe and a 150km tunnel is underway and will have 7 pumping stations.
Kermanshah province, spread over 24,000 square kilometers, has a population of 2 million and the majority of people work in agriculture.
Farming land in the province covesr 950,000 hectares, producing more than 4 million tons of agricultural products a year.
