Publish Date: 4 December 2004 - 19:07

TEHRAN, Dec. 4 (MNA) – Deputy minister of energy in charge of water affairs said that the installed hydropower capacity will reach 5,500MW when President Khatami leaves office in May 2005.

Reza Ardakanian added that government has managed to increase an extra volume of 2.5 billion cu.m to the water reservoirs to end-year.

 

Meanwhile, government seeks alternative resources to reduce water consumption from underground waters during the Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (2005-2010).

 

Iran is considered a relatively dry territory and government plans to improve water management to save more water and encourage the public to decline their consumption.

 

The country has just been recovering from a 7-year drought period, especially in southeastern areas.

 

Despite construction of huge dams, government has not yet explained about several millennium-year historic sites having been flooded when the dams’ reservoirs start water-filling.

 

So energy and water are supplied at the cost of annihilation of ancient regions across the country.

 

ARA/MA

END

MNA