Sistan-Baluchestan’s provincial capital Zahedan will be supplied with natural gas by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2017), managing director of National Iranian Gas Company announced on Saturday.
“Laying the Iranshahr-Zahedan gas pipeline is currently underway, as it is high on NIGC’s list of priorities,” Hamid Reza Araqi was quoted as saying by Shana.
The construction process of the pipeline, which links the country's biggest gas field in the southwest, namely South Pars, to Sistan-Baluchestan Province, started in September 2015.
The development project is slated to be completed in two years by private investment and under a build-operate-transfer contract.
The pipeline project is touted as the biggest in one of the country's least developed provinces in recent history.
Araqi noted that the plan is aimed at delivering gas to the cities of Zahedan, Zabol, Khash, Konarak and Chabahar, as well as providing the province’s power plants with the most needed feedstock.
The measure is projected to lower diesel and mazut consumption in Sistan-Baluchestan’s power plants by 1.4 billion liters and 550 million liters respectively.
The government has instructed power plants and refineries to use gas instead of more polluting feedstock such as mazut due to abundance of gas resources in Iran and the rise in South Pars gas extraction.
"Supplying gas to Sistan-Baluchestan will save $660 million annually by replacing gas with liquefied fuels. The project is estimated to cost $1.8 billion with an investment return of three years," he said.
Araqi noted that the mega project will prevent the emission of 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide, 1,000 tons of carbon monoxide, 8,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 24,000 tons of sulfur oxides.
According to provincial officials, the province ranked last among the country’s 31 provinces in the past few decades in terms of development, but the government is trying to turn things around by implementing new projects such as creating Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone.
The project will supply gas to 300,000 households in the southeastern province.
Nearly 90% of Iranians have access to gas and the figure is due to reach 97% upon the completion of major gas projects in the next few years.
