An estimated $1 billion is invested annually to build dams and hydroelectric plants by the Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company (IWPC), the company's managing director stated.
IWPC operations are worth around $1 billion per year; besides, the company's overall investment since establishment in 1989 accounts for approximately $20 billion, Mohammad-Reza Rezazadeh was quoted by Moj News Agency as saying Tuesday.
He said there are plans to build a total of 11 dams on Karun River in Khuzestan Province in southwest Iran, five of which have been completed – including Gotvand Dam, Masjed Soleyman Dam, Karun-1 (Shahid Abbaspour Dam), Karun-3, and Karun-4. Although five dams are under study, the construction of one dam has already begun.
In addition, plans call for building six dams on the Dez River, a tributary of the Karun River. Construction of two dams has started, yet the rest require further research and examination.
IWPC is now building hydroelectric plants with a total 10,790 MW capacity, and its future projects have an estimated 12,900 MW power generation capacity.
The installed capacity of power plants in Iran is estimated at 72,000 MW, 15 percent of which pertains to the hydroelectric dams. Iran’s electricity industry ranks 14th in the world and first in the Middle East in terms of power generation.
Underlining Karun-3 Hydroelectric Dam as one of IWPC's major projects, he added the dam is 205m high and has the capacity to produce 2,000 MW electricity. Karkheh Dam on the Karkheh River in the northwest Khuzestan has the capacity to hold 5 billion cubic meters of water, the most among Iranian dams, and has 400 MW capacity.
He also underlined the Siah Bisheh Pumped Storage Power Plant in Mazandaran Province as a major project carried out by the IWPC in the north of Iran with 1,000 MW capacity.
Iran is the largest exporter and importer of electricity in the Middle East, exporting electric power to Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan and Armenia supply electricity to Iran under a swap agreement.
