Renewed Opposition to Diverting Water From the Caspian Sea

Diverting water from the Caspian Sea to the drought-stricken Semnan Province in north central Iran, which is seen by many experts as a highly contentious issue, would cost between 70 cents and 90 cents per liter. 
At this prohibitive cost, it would be economically unviable even for developed economies in the world, a faculty member of Mazandaran University said.
"It has been said and reported that this project would cost at least $200 million," Hassan Hosseini said, adding that if and when completed it would have a low return (less than 1%) and so no private company would dare the risk.