In June 2019, the Tehran Times, citing the ILNA agency, reported that Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian was opening eight water schemes in Isfahan Province valued at seven trillion rials, around $166.6 million. Ardakanian said another 207 schemes valued at 87 trillion rials were under way there. He also cited nine newly opened desalination plants intended to provide drinking water for 913,000 people, and more than 1,115 villages newly connected to the piped network.
The report showed desalination holding a firm place in the Iranian energy ministry's record alongside pipeline supply to villages. It appeared there, however, as just one item among many.
Source: Tehran Times