Iran To Launch Water Markets To Curb Losses

Iran will launch "water markets" (general term for mechanisms used to acquire and redistribute water) in 609 regions across the country in a bid to curb water losses.

Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said the decision has been made by the High Council for Water in order to cut down the consumption of water, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported on September 19.

The council also approved that the supervision on the consumption of water to be transferred from the administration to NGOs, Chitchian said.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Aug. 12 that his administration has decided to allocate at least $2 billion every year to deal with water shortage crisis in the country. He also said the administration will follow the same policy in the years to come.

Iran is located in an arid zone, and the drought of 1992-2002 caused a major blow to agriculture. There were quotas imposed for fresh water in several cities, including the capital Tehran.(Cihan/Trend)