Iranian Minister of Power Hamid Chitchian has announced a plan to transfer water from the Sea of Oman to Khorasan Razavi Province and called on investors to submit their proposals to the ministry.
The Mehr News Agency reports that the minister said on Saturday December 12 that by the end of the Iranian calendar year in March, all studies regarding the transfer of water from the Sea of Oman and other sources to Khorasan Razavi will be finalized, and in the coming days two dams will also be completed and ready for operation.
Chitchian reports that each year the province is consuming 1.1 billion cubic metres above the limit for renewing water resources, and the government needs to implement an effective strategy to resolve this problem.
He said the first step is the extraction of surface water, adding that 27 dams have reached fruition so far and three were just about to launch.
He added that replenishing and balancing underground waters, the treatment of waste waters for use in agriculture and the transfer of water from other regions are the three strategies for facing the water crisis in Khorasan Razavi, which leads all of Iran in the overuse of underground waters.
Experts report that the use of underground waters in Khorasan needs to be reduced by half.
The ministry plans to offer Khorasan Razavi’s water transfer projects to the private sector.
