TEHRAN – Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, on Thursday, inaugurated numerous gas supply projects with a total investment of 63.31 trillion rials (about $1.5 billion) in six provinces through video conference, Shana reported.

As reported, with the mentioned projects going operational, natural gas was supplied to 21 cities, 2,809 villages, and 4,664 industrial units in West Azarbaijan, Lorestan, Fars, South Khorasan, Kerman, and Khuzestan provinces.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) officials, as well as senior officials from the mentioned provinces.

The minister also inaugurated four units of gas pressure boosting facilities worth 65.86 trillion rials (about $1.56 billion) in Khuzestan and Fars provinces.

According to the Iranian Oil Ministry, over 88 percent of the country’s rural areas are supplied with natural gas through the national network, and more than 95 percent of the country’s total population is enjoying natural gas through the national network.

Currently, over 32,000 villages across Iran are enjoying natural gas through the national network and the number is planned to reach 40,000 by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2022).

Over the past seven years, more than 290 trillion rials (nearly $7 billion) has been allocated by the government to connect over 18,000 new rural areas with over 1.6 million households to the national gas network.

In Iran, where villages account for generating 20-23 percent of the value-added in the country, the development of rural areas has been always a top agenda of the governments’ activities.

Back in November 2020, the NIGC managing director had announced that gas will be supplied to 40,000 villages throughout the country by the end of the current year.

Hassan Montazer Torbati stated that gas supply has been developed in the cities and villages of the country since seven years ago due to the increase in gas production in the South Pars gas field (Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf).

EF/MA