The project to transfer water from the Persian Gulf to Fars Province, especially to Lamerd County, is underway, managing director of Lamerd Special Economic Zone said.
“With an investment of $500 million, the project will supply water to Lamerd Special Economic Zone,” Ehsan Ansari was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Referring to the importance of sustainable water supply in industrial areas, the official said the construction of infrastructure for the water transfer project to Lamerd was launched last year.
Pointing to the water supply problems of the industrial zone, Ansari said, “Currently, we use water from the Kowsar Dam located in Kohgilouyeh-Boyarahmad Province, but this is actually drinking water that should not be used for industries.”
Water transfer from the Persian Gulf to Fars Province will address shortages both in the industrial and drinking sectors.
According to plans, about 400 million cubic meters of water will be delivered to the southern province.
The first phase of the project is underway to transfer desalinated water from Parsian Special Economic Energy Zone in southern Hormozgan Province in the Persian Gulf to Lamerd Special Economic Zone.
A 100-km pipeline with five pumping stations will annually transfer 15 million cubic meters of desalinated water from Parsian Port to Lamerd, which is expected to be completed in two years.
The development of Lamerd Energy Zone is imperative to expand the petrochemical industry and this cannot happen unless sufficient water is available.
Fars Province’s drinking water comes from 350 wells, springs, aqueducts and two dams. The dry province, as is the case in most other regions of Iran, has been grappling with drought for years and piling pressure on the people, utilities and urban managers.
Officials have warned that the region’s groundwater balance is negative due to the high rate of water withdrawal.
Prolonged drought, rising temperatures, growing demand and global warming have led to a rapid decline in groundwater resources.
Although experts consider water transfer schemes to be environmentally harmful, the transfer of Persian Gulf water is seen as the last resort. Many Arab littoral states have long been drawing water from the strategic waterway at a high cost.
Water Supply to Central Regions
The Persian Gulf water is also set to be transferred to central Iran for industrial use.
The second phase of the project to divert water from the Persian Gulf to Kerman and Yazd provinces has registered over 70% progress. It included an 850-km pipeline to annually transfer 180 million cubic meters of desalinated water from the Bandar Abbas Desalination Plant in southern Hormozgan Province to Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine in Rafsanjan County, Kerman Province, and the Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company in Ardakan County, Yazd Province.
The first phase of the plan was launched in 2020 and supplied water to Golgohar Mining and Industrial Complex in Sirjan, Kerman. It included a desalination unit (in Bandar Abbas), 10 pumping stations, 40 water storage tanks, 14 power substations and a 150-kilovolt power transmission line from Hormozgan to Kerman and Yazd.
Of the total volume of planned water transfer, Golgohar Complex, Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine and Chadormalu Company will annually receive 45 mcm, 40 mcm and 30 mcm, respectively. The rest will be used for drinking purposes in the dry region.
With the completion of the new phase, other industries in Yazd Province will also be provided with water from the Persian Gulf and reduce their dependence on groundwater, the level of which has declined in recent years.
On average, 1 billion cubic meters of water are extracted from groundwater resources in Yazd every year, resulting in severe water deficits in most plains.
Groundwater overdraft can lead to the destruction of vegetation, increase the possibility of dust storms, create sinkholes in the plains, increase salt content in groundwater and worsen land subsidence.
Yazd is in the center of Iran where two deserts, Dasht-e-Kavir and Dasht-e-Lut, meet. It has dry and arid climate and suffers from chronic drought. The province has an annual precipitation of 49 millimeters and only 23 days of rainfall.
