President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday inaugurated the 5th and 6th units of the South Tehran Water and Wastewater Treatment Complex.
Built with government funds, the two units will meet the demand of 320,000 households, or an estimated 1.05 million people. The new units have the capacity to supply 82 million cubic meters of wastewater for farming, and convert 200 tons of sludge per day into fertilizer.
According to long-term plans, 22 water treatment plants will be established by 2031 in 12 regions across the capital, covering more than 11 million people. With eight water and wastewater treatment units, the southern complex is an integral part of the 2031 plan which is slated to cover around 4.2 million people, ISNA reported.
The president also green-lighted six other wastewater projects for the metropolis estimated to cost $600 million, including the 7th and 8th units of south complex, establishment of five treatment plants in the west including one for 504,000 people, four wastewater treatment units in the northeast, and 12km of underground wastewater tunnel in the southwestern flank of the capital.
According to estimates, access to water supply was 98 percent in the urban areas by 2011, where more than two-thirds of Iranians live, and 90 percent in rural areas.
Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian, President's Chief of Staff Muhammad Nahavandian and Governor General of Tehran Province Hussein Hashemi participated in Saturday's inauguration ceremony.
Moreover, development of an additional 600km of underground wastewater network started Saturday and is estimated to cost $132 million.
Water Crisis
Speaking at the ceremony, the president warned that dams around Tehran are operating at barely 60 percent capacity and once again appealed for judicious consumption of water.
"The water crisis can and will be addressed if households reduce consumption by merely 10 percent," the president said, adding that his government is doing all within its reach to help prevent shortage of water next summer.
Rouhani said precipitation has declined by a massive 20 percent over the past several years and the country is still in the grips of a dry spell. On the new water treatment units, he said, "the new complex will have a heavy workload as 55 percent of Tehran's population will be covered by water treatment services."
He added that the entire population of the capital, said to be over 12 million and growing, should have easy access to water and wastewater services. The previous units of the key facility were built by foreign firms, but units 5 and 6 are the fruit of Iranian engineers and technicians, the president was quoted a saying.
