More than 83,000 households in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan Province, are connected to the national gas grid now, and projects are underway to increase the figure.
So far, 1,380 kilometers of gas distribution network have been laid in the city of Zahedan, the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana reported.
According to the plans, the number of gas subscribers in the southeastern city will reach 140,000 within three years.
Zahedan has a population of about 630,000. A 262-km gas pipeline supplies gas from Iranshahr County, the first in the province that was partly connected to the grid, to Zahedan, the provincial capital bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The pipeline is an extension of the Iran Gas Trunkline 7 (IGAT-7) that stretches over 900 km between Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, and Iranshahr in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
Almost 95% of the country’s population are linked to the national gas network. An estimated five million people do not have access to piped gas, half of which live in Sistan-Baluchestan.
There are also other projects to connect more urban and rural households plus industries to the gas network in Sistan-Baluchestan.
The underdeveloped province is the only region partly deprived of piped gas. Until the whole population of about 2.7 million are connected to the grid, homes make do with liquid fuel.
Around 36 million cubic meters of LPG are used in the province per annum and this volume will be cut when the new projects are completed.
Almost 4.7 million liters of liquid fuel are supplied in the country every day, of which 2.2 million liters go to the southeastern province. Gas supply to Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran’s second largest province, is expected to be completed by 2023.
Pipe laying and infrastructure building are underway in several cities in the southeastern region, including Zahedan, Zabol, Khash, Iranshahr, Mirjaveh, Chabahar, Mohammadan, Bampur, Bazman and Delgan.
