A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) and Farassan Industrial Group to expedite the water supply project from the Persian Gulf to the Parsian Special Economic Energy Zone in Bushehr Province and Lamard Special Economic Zone in Fars Province, the project operator said.
"The €32 million project started in 2016 and is expected to be completed in two years," Masoud Bahmanpour was quoted as saying by the Persian-language economic newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad.
Bahmanpour said water from the Persian Gulf will be desalinated in Hormozgan Province before it is piped to the industrial regions. .
"A desalination center is being built in the province using reverse osmosis process technology that is estimated to cost €36 million."
Excavation operations have been carried out and high-pressure pipelines are being laid, he noted.
According to Bahmanpour, the development of energy zones is imperative to expanding Iran’s petrochemical industry and “this cannot happen unless enough water is available.”
Founded in 1987, Farassan is a private company involved in designing, engineering, production, and construction services for the water, oil, petrochemical and other industries.
Iran wants to set up new plants in the Parsian zone with a total petrochemical output capacity of 18 million tons a year.
Parsian is planning to annually produce 4 million tons of steel as well as 1.2 million tons of aluminum.
This zone should not be confused with the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) southeast of Bushehr Province which is home to major oil, gas and petrochemical facilities.
