The Gardian Dam and the Jolfa 132-kV Substation became operational on Monday in an official ceremony attended by Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi in East Azarbaijan Province.The Gardian earth-fill dam, featuring a clay core, has a crest length of 1,350 meters and a reservoir capacity of 10 million cubic meters. It will provide coverage for 2,200 hectares of land in the Aras region in the northwest of Iran, IRNA reported.The updated cost for implementing the project is approximately $12.2 million.The Jolfa 132-kV Substation project, with a capacity of 40 Mega Volt-Ampere (MVA), has been implemented to provide stable electricity for drinking water and agricultural purposes.The updated cost for implementing the project is approximately $6.1 million.The operational start of the dam is regarded as a fundamental step in flood control, recharging groundwater aquifers, and supplying water for the agricultural sector.Other objectives for inaugurating the project include storing 10 million cubic meters of water during non-agricultural seasons to supply water for 2,200 hectares of agricultural land, creating tourism potential for the Aras Free Zone, increasing agricultural productivity, and boosting the region's economic prosperity.Furthermore, the project's socio-environmental effects include job creation in the region, enhanced agricultural productivity, regional economic prosperity, development of tourism potential in the free zone, optimal utilization of the country's water rights from the Aras River (on the northwestern border), and the storage of water during non-agricultural seasons.Supplying power for the five pumping stations of the Aras Exploitation Development Plan, aimed at irrigating 9,050 hectares of land in the Golfaraj and Yekanat plains, is an objective of the Jolfa 132/20-kV Substation.Additionally, the project's social impacts include providing sustainable development infrastructure in the Jolfa region, supplying stable electricity for the utilization of 9,050 hectares of farmers' lands, and stabilizing the border population through the creation of sustainable employment in the area.On the sidelines of his visit to East Azarbaijan to inaugurate water and power projects and review provincial progress, Aliabadi also announced that over 38,000 new power plant construction permits have been issued nationwide. He stated, "Through essential planning to attract investment, the government has also enabled private-sector electricity sales and exports." (ICE TEHERAN)

Fonte notizia: IRAN DAILY