Tehran, Iran, March 15
Trend:
Head of Energy Commission of Iranian Parliament Qasem Saedi offered to have water-consuming industries move closer to seaside provinces, to save the waste of country's groundwater resources.
Referring to the issue of water transfer from Karoun River to Isfahan province, Saedi told Trend that "the representatives of Isfahan in the parliament want to take the whole water."
"The water there is used mostly for factories and industries, not for drinking," he said.
“Steel and petrochemical industries will definitely face water scarce,” he said. “One of the problems is the lack of spatial planning in the country.”
“Some provinces like Kerman, Yazd and Esfahan, which are the three most important provinces of Iran, can develop the industries which need less water, but unfortunately in these provinces, most of the groundwater is used for industries, while underground water should be used for drinking and irrigation at the farms,” Saedi explained.
He reminded that two months ago, Yazd province's first steel plant was opened, but the source of water for it remains unclear.
"The issue of water transfer is taken seriously, but the issue of water transfer costs is not," he said.
"Petrochemical producers and steelmakers should move to Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzestan provinces, and Northern provinces which have more water and are near the sea," he said. "Meanwhile, those industries that are not as water-consuming, should be moved to Yazd and Kerman provinces," the MP suggested.