Tehran Says Beijing is Ready to Sign Agreement to Build Ten Dams in Iran

May 30, 2007 (LPAC)--Iran's Deputy Prime Minister Rasoul Zargar said on May 27, that within the next two weeks China and Iran are going to sign a $2 billion agreement whereby China will commit to build ten dams in Iran. Rasoul claimed the European and Asian nations are eagerly waiting for power generation projects in Iran because they would like to invest in the country once this part of the infrastructure work gets done.

Iranian Deputy premier noted that the five dams are to be built in Ardebil, West Azarbaijan, Gilan, Fars and Lorestan provinces. "Tenders on five dam projects are being held and the winners will be declared in three months."

Turning to the flood control project implemented in Dasht Zabol, Sistan-Baluchistan province, and the 200-million-dollar fund allocated to it by the World Bank in the 1970s, he said, "As a consequence of this project, no damage was inflicted on the area despite the flow of flood water from Afghanistan's Helmand River in the current year. At the same time, he said on account of such a project, we managed to harness the flood water and use it to irrigate the farmlands in Dasht Zabol. "Therefore, the rate of cultivated farmlands in the area increased 3-4 fold and reached about 90 hectares," he pointed out.