Page 60 - IRANRptSep21

Iran’s energy ministry announces desalination projects amid Khuzestan drought protests
Iran bans crypto mining for four months as power cuts rile households ahead of election
Crypto mining ‘delivering Iran over $1bn in annual revenue’
Gwadar port is an integral part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project (CPEC), in which China has invested billions in infrastructure projects in Pakistan. Islamabad handed Gwadar port to a Chinese-backed multinational corporation on a lease of 40 years.
Prior to the crisis that has gripped Afghanistan with the Taliban takeover of the country, Pakistan was stepping up efforts to attract export consignments from Central Asia to boost the Gwadar port’s business outlook. As such cargo would have to come via Afghanistan, the outcome of those efforts now depends on what the Taliban will permit under their rule. Iran, meanwhile, is with India jointly developing Chabahar port, a deep sea facility on the Sea of Oman not far along the coast from Gwadar, as a rival to Gwadar.
Work is under way to build two desalination plants in Iran’s drought-stricken Khuzestan province on the Persian Gulf, IRNA reported the country’s energy ministry as saying on July 27.
The southwestern province has been the scene of nearly two weeks of street protests over water shortages amid the most prolonged drought it has suffered in more than 50 years. Several people have been killed in the unrest. Water supplies to farms, households and industry have been cut, with reservoir levels in the region perilously low. Demonstrations have rocked cities including majority Iranian Arab Ahvaz, with locals lamenting the lack of attention given to their woes by the government in Tehran 800 kilometres to the north.
The energy ministry said the two desalination systems, to be built in Choobdeh and Arvand, would have a water production capacity of 6,000 cubic metres per day. Three other desalination systems, in Abadan, Khorramshahr and Hindijan, with a water production capacity of 32,500 cubic metres, were currently in use, it added.
Currently, official information shows 304 cities in Iran are suffering from water shortages, with water consumption measured at 10% to 30% above water production.
CEO of the Water and Sewerage Company of Iran, Hamid Reza Janbaz, told a press conference that 702 villages in Khuzestan province “will soon have tap water” and should not have to “worry about water by autumn”.
“Out of 702 villages that have had water supply problems, about 500 villages will have their problems solved by the end of the year and soon the water supply to all these localities will be stable,” he added.
Iran has forbidden the energy-intensive mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for nearly four months, President Hassan Rouhani announced on May 26, with the country enduring major power blackouts in many cities.
"The ban on the mining of cryptocurrencies is effective immediately until September 22 ... Some 85% of the current mining in Iran is unlicensed," Rouhani said in a televised speech at a cabinet meeting.
The blackouts are stirring much resentment among Iranians, with the mid-June presidential election approaching. Officials have blamed the power cuts on cryptocurrency mining, drought that is undermining hydroelectricity production and surging electricity demand in summer.
According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, around 4.5% of all Bitcoin mining takes place in Iran, with the activity enabling the Islamic Republic to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from cryptocurrencies that can be used to reduce the impact of US sanctions on trade.
Cryptocurrencies are created through a process known as mining in which powerful, energy-thirsty computers compete with each other to solve complex
60 IRAN Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com