30 July 2011
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the highest roller-compact concrete (RCC) dam in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on Thursday.
The Upper Gotvand Dam, which is located five kilometers from the city of Gotvand, has the second largest reservoir after Karkheh Dam, IRNA reported.
The new dam measures 182 meters in height and creates a reservoir covering an area of 90 square kilometers, and will supply Khuzestan with 4.5 billion cubic meters of water.
The Upper Gotvand project also includes a power plant which will generate a major part of Iran's hydroelectricity.
Two units of the power plant have been completed and will be ready for launching once the water level in the reservoir is high. Two remaining units will be completed by mid-September.
The facilities at the Upper Gotvand power plant include a 9,000-ton collection of turbines, generators, butterfly valves, electrical transformers, speed limiters and cranes, which will be installed at the plant in phases.
The project, which was built with a cost of almost $15 billion, is expected to revolutionize agriculture and industry in Khuzestan by storing 4.5 billion cubic meters of water and producing an annual 4,250 million kilowatt hours of electricity.
Earlier, Ahmadinejad also inaugurated two major industrial projects, a power plant and a cement factory, worth more than $640 million in the northern province of Golestan.
Last week, the president commissioned the new phase of Ardebil power plant, which cost about $175 million, in Ardebil province.
The Orumiyeh combined cycle gas plant, with the capacity of 1,000 megawatts, was also inaugurated at a cost of about $170 million in West Azarbaijan province early in July.
In addition to generating electricity, Iran needs dams to effectively control and manage growing water shortage across the country. Iran's central provinces are located close to vast deserts and face severe water shortage for agriculture.
Iran is also engaged in dam construction activities in Tajikistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and consultations are underway with a number of other countries.
In 2010, Iran won a contract to build a dam in Afghanistan and another contract to build a power plant in Syria.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the highest roller-compact concrete (RCC) dam in the southwestern province of Khuzestan on Thursday.
The Upper Gotvand Dam, which is located five kilometers from the city of Gotvand, has the second largest reservoir after Karkheh Dam, IRNA reported.
The new dam measures 182 meters in height and creates a reservoir covering an area of 90 square kilometers, and will supply Khuzestan with 4.5 billion cubic meters of water.
The Upper Gotvand project also includes a power plant which will generate a major part of Iran's hydroelectricity.
Two units of the power plant have been completed and will be ready for launching once the water level in the reservoir is high. Two remaining units will be completed by mid-September.
The facilities at the Upper Gotvand power plant include a 9,000-ton collection of turbines, generators, butterfly valves, electrical transformers, speed limiters and cranes, which will be installed at the plant in phases.
The project, which was built with a cost of almost $15 billion, is expected to revolutionize agriculture and industry in Khuzestan by storing 4.5 billion cubic meters of water and producing an annual 4,250 million kilowatt hours of electricity.
Earlier, Ahmadinejad also inaugurated two major industrial projects, a power plant and a cement factory, worth more than $640 million in the northern province of Golestan.
Last week, the president commissioned the new phase of Ardebil power plant, which cost about $175 million, in Ardebil province.
The Orumiyeh combined cycle gas plant, with the capacity of 1,000 megawatts, was also inaugurated at a cost of about $170 million in West Azarbaijan province early in July.
In addition to generating electricity, Iran needs dams to effectively control and manage growing water shortage across the country. Iran's central provinces are located close to vast deserts and face severe water shortage for agriculture.
Iran is also engaged in dam construction activities in Tajikistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and consultations are underway with a number of other countries.
In 2010, Iran won a contract to build a dam in Afghanistan and another contract to build a power plant in Syria.
© Iran Daily 2011
