TEHRAN, Iran, June 8
Trend:
Iranian government has invested $2.3 billion on a mega water transfer project from Kani Sib Dam to revive Lake Urmia, said the head of Plan and Budget Organization.
"Reviving Lake Urmia is a national plan that was initiated in 2014, and we can call current Iranian year [started March 20, 2020] the final year of the project," said Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, Trend reports citing IRNA.
"Total of 12 projects will be implemented in this regard with the government's support," he said. "Transferring water from Kani Sib dam to Lake Urmia is one of the important projects, under which a 36-kilometer tunnel has been constructed to transfer 600 million cubic meters water to the lake annually."
"The project is in final stages and it is expected to be commissioned by the end of the summer," Nobakht said. "There is no financial problems in its implementation, and around $133 million will be injected to the water transfer plan," he added.
"The water transfer tunnel from Zab River to Lake Urmia is 36 kilometer long; so far, 31 kilometers have been installed, it's planned to transfer 650 million cubic meters of water to the lake," he said.
"The National Development Fund is to finance the project, while officials will help to receive a credit to the plan," he said.