TEHRAN- The project to transfer seawater to the central plateau (spanning from Sirjan to Isfahan), which was implemented with the major support of the Mobarakeh Steel Company, was officially inaugurated by order of President Masoud Pezeshkian, on Saturday, December 6, 2025.

The goal of this project is to provide sustainable water for the industries of Isfahan province. With a cost of 350 trillion rials (about $320 million), it was implemented over two years with the major participation of the Mobarakeh Steel Company, covering an 800-kilometer route from Sirjan to Isfahan. With its operation beginning, the dependence of Mobarakeh Steel and a significant portion of the region's industries on the Zayandeh-Rud River basin will be severed.

Before the implementation of this project, the industries of Isfahan province were facing the risk of shutdown. Therefore, transferring water from the sea to the central plateau is an infrastructural and vital project for the future of industries in this region.

It symbolizes foresight, value engineering, and water resource risk management, representing an effective step in preserving water resources, particularly the Zayandeh-Rud River basin.

The development of the project's subsequent phases and increasing transfer and distribution capacity can significantly enhance the country's industrial water supply security, as well as hope and social capital.

At the inaugural ceremony, the president, while thanking all those who worked hard to implement this project, stated: "We have held numerous meetings to address the water shortage problem in the central region of the country and other parts of the country, which will continue. Expert studies with the participation of academics from across the country are underway to identify and implement solutions with foresight, scientific rationale, and a sustainable development approach."

Pezeshkian added: "I believe that through cooperation, synergy, and solidarity with one another, and relying on expert work, we can overcome the water shortage problem. One of the necessary measures in this regard is that we all help ensure that, from now on, industrial and population loads are shifted toward the country's southern coasts."

MA