President of Iran Hassan Rouhani via a video link last Thursday inaugurated the first phase of a project aimed at desalinating and transferring water from the Persian Gulf to the central areas of the country though pipelines, IRNA news agency reports.
The first phase of the project is capable of desalinating and transferring around 200,000 cubic meters of water in 24 hours. The water will meet part of the needs of industries and residential areas in central and southeastern provinces.
According to the report, a total of 16.3 trillion tomans (about $3.88 billion) have been invested for the desalination project and water transmission line. These projects have been designed and implemented by the Iranian engineers, using the expertise of experienced companies in the Persian Gulf. The project has so far created job opportunities for 1,200 people.
The overall length of this giant water transfer line is about 800 kilometers. In the first phase of this project, 305 kilometers (km) of pipelines, seven water pumping stations, and 10 electricity substations as well as 150 km of power transmission lines were designed and implemented in addition to constructing several balance tanks and storages. There are three main lines in this project that will eventually transfer some 600 million cubic meters of water from the Persian Gulf to Kerman, Yazd, and Hormozgan provinces every year.
