Veep to Inaugurate Wastewater Facility

Phase 1 of Parand Wastewater Treatment Plant, 35 kilometers southwest of Tehran, is expected to be inaugurated on Tuesday by First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri. According to IRNA, the plant, which will be completed in three phases, is to collect, treat and transfer 87,000 cubic meters of effluent per day, or more than 30 million cubic meters annually. The first phase of the project, which cost $38 million, will process 10 mcm of wastewater annually. The new plant will be able to remove organic pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus with the help of advanced sludge technology. According to Tehran Water and Wastewater Company, part of the city's wastewater will be supplied to Parand wastewater facility. Expansion of wastewater network in and around Tehran has been a major development project in the past four decades, but a lack of funding as well as rapid development of urban areas around the sprawling metropolis have slowed the initiative.