Desalination of Gulf waters proposed as solution for water crisis

Iran’s minister of power aounced that the govement will be implementing a project to produce drinking water from the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman for transfer to 17 provinces in Iran’s central plateau.

In a report on Nasim online on Thursday March 31, Hamid Chitchian Iran Minister of Power said the project aims at providing drinking water for 45 million people in 17 provinces.

He explained that at the first stage water will be “desalinated in Bandar Abbas and then transferred to Kerman”.

He added that permits for transfer of water form Kerman to Yazd, Isfahan and Fars have been issued and the project is to be funded through “a number of banks and govement sources”.

He pointed to “50 desalination plants along the coast of the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf” to provide drinking water for cities of the region which have been facing water shortage in recent years. He added however that the water needs to be also transferred to other regions since water shortage is a more widespread conce in the country.

General decline in precipitation and years of mismanagement of water resources have led to a widespread shortage of water in Iran and made the water crisis a top priority for the govement.