Some 2,400 projects are underway in water, wastewater and power sectors across the country, which have progressed by 60% on average.
Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian made the statement on Thursday during his visit to the western Kurdestan Province to inaugurate a number of water and power projects, ISNA reported.
“Some 15 trillion rials ($357 million) have been spent on the plans underway, which still need 13 trillion rials ($310 million) to become operational,” he said, adding that most of the projects are planned to go on stream until mid-2021 that marks the end of President Hassan Rouhani’s second term in office.
"As per the ministry’s comprehensive plan, 5,000 megawatts will be added to Iran’s total power generation capacity in the next fiscal year (starting March 21, 2019)."
The minister noted that the scheme allocates water quota for drinking, industries and agriculture.
Water management poses a serious challenge, as the country is grappling with severe water shortage in the past several years. It has an annual average precipitation of 252 millimeters, which is approximately one-third of the global average.
Ardakanian, which inaugurated Abbasabad Dam in the border city of Baneh, said the dam, built at a cost of over 1.2 trillion rials ($30 million), will meet the city’s water demand until the fiscal 2046-47.
“In addition to Abbasabad Dam, six other plans in the power sector, which cost 1.1 trillion rials ($27 million), were launched in the cities of Qorveh, Marivan and Kamyaran to ensure the sustainability of electricity network,” he said.
The minister also broke ground for three other power projects in Sanandaj, Qorveh and Kamyaran, which require an investment of 600 billion rials ($14.2 million).
He underscored that Azad and Javeh dams in Sanandaj and Cheragh Veis Dam in Saqqez will be able to control 1 billion cubic meters of water upon completion.
According to Ardakanian, as Kurdestan Province borders Iraq, it can possibly export electricity to the country, thus the development of its power infrastructure is vital.
