A memorandum of understanding has been signed by Iran’s Energy Ministry and French company Suez S.A. on reducing water wastage by 10%, a deputy energy minister announced on Tuesday.
Alireza Daemi also told ISNA that the MoU calls for a pilot plan in a district of Tehran, covering a population of 1.5 million, to streamline the water network and curb water wastage.
The MoU was signed last week in France during the second leg of President Hassan Rouhani's first post-sanctions trip to Europe.
Suez is a leading Paris-based multinational corporation, with operations primarily focusing on water, electricity and supply and waste management.
“The French company will finance the project and revenues from curbing water wastage will make up for the project's cost,” he said.
The deputy minister noted that the project, with an investment of $76 million, will be implemented over five years.
“The amount of money paid to Iranian and French contractors depends on the activities each company is responsible for, which, based on speculations, bulk of the work will be carried out by domestic companies.”
Describing the firm’s history in Iran, Daemi said Suez is one of the largest French enterprises in water sector and implemented projects such as Jalalieh water treatment unit in Iran in the past.
Suez has a relatively long history of cooperation with Iran.
According to the deputy minister, the company’s officials frequently visited Iranian water infrastructures in the past two months, which led to the bilateral agreement.
He further said the agreement aims to work as a stepping stone for Iranian contractors to carry our similar projects in other regions nationwide.
“The agreement encompasses three scopes: transfer of technology, training Iranian workforce and expanding national infrastructure in the sector,” he said.
Referring to the ministry’s cooperation with other European countries, Daemi said, “Cooperation and utilization of technology in water, wastewater and electricity sectors are on the Energy Ministry’s agenda … According to forecasts, a contract is to be signed with another European company, maybe from Scandinavia, in less than three months.”
The contract, focused on technology transfer, is yet to be finalized.
