TEHRAN – Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri says developing the water and electricity infrastructure is a necessity for the country’s economic growth, the portal of Energy Ministry (Paven) reported.

“Water and electricity are the main prerequisites for improvement which determine the pace of development in the country, so these two sectors must be miles ahead of other industries,” Jahangiri said in a meeting with the Energy Ministry’s senior officials on Saturday.

He underlined the significance of the energy sector’s role in the country’s economic prosperity and said: “The Energy Ministry is responsible for one of the most important areas in the country’s economy.”

Mentioning some of the challenges that the ministry is facing, the official said, there are still issues that need to be dealt with even 40 years after the Islamic Revolution.

“Despite more than 83,000 megawatts of power plant capacity in the country, the Ministry of Energy is still concerned about blackouts during the peak consumption periods in the summer; of course I thank the minister for his efforts to manage the situation in recent years,” he added.

Referring to the current situation in the country [the U.S. sanctions and the economic pressures due to the coronavirus outbreak] Jahangiri said: "This situation does not mean a dead end which we cannot passed through."

Referring to last year's floods, the first vice president added: "The pressure of these disasters, including coronavirus, sanctions and drought, has been tremendous on the Energy Ministry but you managed to pass through them successfully.”

He further underlined the ministry’s efforts for supplying drinking water to rural areas across the country and noted: “Supplying drinking water for people is the most important issue, and we have approved this strategy and ensure people that we provide them with sustainable drinking water.”

The Energy Ministry has been implementing new programs in the past few years for accelerating the development of the country’s energy sectors including water and electricity.

In this regard, following a program called “A-B-Iran”, the Energy Ministry inaugurated 227 major projects with a total investment of 335.6 trillion rials (about $7.99 billion) across the country in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19).

According to Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, the ministry is going to inaugurate 250 major water and electricity projects worth 500 trillion rials (about $11.9 billion) during the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021), under the same program.

EF/MA

Photo: Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri (L) and Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian in a meeting of the ministry’s senior officials in Tehran on Saturday