$130 Million to Be Allocated to Ardabil Power, Water Projects

More than $130 million will be allocated to the power and water projects in Ardabil Province within three years to address electricity and water issues in the province, the energy minister said.
“Unfortunately, last water year [September 2020-21] was the driest year in Iran over the last 50 years,” the Energy Ministry’s news portal Paven also quoted Ali Akbar Mehrabian as saying. 
“Last year's rainfall was 37% less than the average rainfall in half a century. However, plans are underway to preserve the water resources so that there will be no problem regarding water supply in the province.”
According to the minister, several urban and rural water supply and irrigation network projects are underway and a number of dams are also under construction in Ardabil, a number of which will be completed by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2022).
Projects to strengthen the power grid through the construction of substations and transmission lines are also underway in the northwestern province.
“The construction of Anbaran Dam in Namin County has progressed by 65% and with the allocation of the required budget, it is expected to be inaugurated by March 2022,” Mehrabian said.
With a capacity of 1 million cubic meters, the dam will supply farms and feed downstream wells and aqueducts. About $1.3 million have been invested in the project so far. 
According to provincial officials, the agricultural sector in the province annually produces an estimated 4.5 million tons of products, including lentils, canola seeds, potatoes, honey, sugarbeet, wheat and barley.
Its products are exported to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Turkey, Georgia and the UAE, among other countries.