Enormous potential in Iran

Iran´s economy has been expanding at an above-average rate of 5% per year, boosted in particular by rising income from oil exports. Due to continuing strong demand for energy around the world, the country´s revenues will remain at a high level – and this is the basis for funding major infrastructure projects and imports of foreign goods, technology and services. As a result companies from western industrialised nations can also look forward to rising sales to Iran.

Attention in Iran is focusing ever more strongly on the water and waste-water infrastructure throughout the country. Increasing urbanisation, industrialisation and a population shift from the countryside to the towns is putting pressure on these systems. In rural districts in particular, the growing divide between town and country is prompting particular efforts. The main drivers behind the need to invest in the water and waste-water infrastructure in Iran include the following:

- Competition for resources between the population, agriculture and industry
- A fall in groundwater levels and a decline in quality
- Only a small proportion of the rural population has access to safe water
- Deterioration in the water supply network, with associated losses
- Large discrepancy between water rates and the actual cost of supplying water
- Increasing water pollution
- Improvements in infrastructure are lagging behind the targets set out in government plans

Iran´s water and waste-water infrastructure is still a largely untapped market. It faces tremendous challenges, due to population growth, a concentration of people in mega-cities and rapid industrialisation. Government plans for the next twenty years aim at a wide-ranging expansion of this infrastructure. Since 2005 major projects in water transfer and the building of dams have been funded. The goal is first to provide fresh water supplies to 2.6 million people living in an area of 150 square kilometres; by 2023 another 10.5 million will be connected to the network. To help implement this ambitious plan, Iran is also turning to companies and institutions from abroad. One area, for example, that is directly affected by increasing industrialisation, is the need for sewage plants, and here foreign imports are necessary.



By 2021 the focus of environmental investment will be in the field of waste water treatment and in the securing of drinking water supplies.

The current 5-year plan running until 2009 foresees annual expenditure of approx. 2 billion euros.

The following main aims are expected to be realized:

- Country-wide, comprehensive availability of
water supply and waste water connections
- Improvement in quality of water
- Reduction in leakage loss

The development of sea water desalination plants on the Persian Gulf should be driven forward in order to supply water for industrial purposes.

The development of water storage options in the form of reservoirs and dams is a top state priority.

• 82 dams are under construction
• 230 are at the planning stage